Service is Such a Blessing!

I'm sorry that this post is so long but it was such a wonderful experience that I had to write all about it!

 

My ward just got done doing this humungous service project. We had a thanksgiving and variety show for all of the elderly "shut ins" in our stake. I was on the planning commitee and it took a ton of work but was WELL worth it! Everyone in our ward went around in pairs and personally invited each person and found out what dietary needs they had and if they had any special mobility needs, so that we could figure out who had a car that could accomodate that need, because yes... we were picking every single person up and bringing them to the church.

I was in charge of the food aspect of it all. We were planning on feeding around 80 people and thankfully everyone in our ward was so helpful and willing to do whatever we asked them to. So I delegated each dish to several people so that no one person had to make a huge amount of a dish... Except for my mother, of course, who is a saint and volunteered to do ALL of the mashed potatoes! In the end we had a ton of leftovers and so we got a second thanksgiving meal the next day for munch and mingle after church!

I will do my best to put into words how wonderful and beneficial this was for EVERYONE that was invloved in it! First off, going and inviting these incredible people was so much fun! I love old people! All of the ones that I went to, who were all women, were so excited and happy to have someone there to talk to them and were looking forward to the dinner!

 

 

One of the ladies that we visited is named Celesta and she has become special to my heart. She wasn't healthy enough to make it the night of the dinner and thankfully the night of people were able to bring her, and others that weren't able to come, a plate with food on it! But when we first walked in to her trailer and started talking to her I just had the thought that I really want to come and visit this lady more often. Then as we were getting ready to leave we said "We'll get out of your hair" and she said "oh your not in my hair! I love having you here to talk with." and in my mind that just solidified the thought that I had had earlier! As we continued talking we talked about her dog and she said that her birthday is December 6th and that she wanted to get someone to get her a birthday present. Again, in my head, I was raising my hand and jumping up and down saying I can do it! I can do it!

The best part about this whole visit is that we found out that she hasn't been getting the sacrament, which isn't the best part, but we found that information out and were able to pass it on to her Bishop. And we were not the only ones that things like that happened to! It was so wonderful to hear all of the cool stories that everyone had!

 

The dinner was a little crazy but went so well and most importantly the elderly loved it!!

 

 The tables and decorations all set up!

 A quick story about the lady in the green with the hat... She is one of the ladies that I went and invited. When I found out she was there I ran out and said hi! She said to me, "I was looking for you but they told me you were in the kitchen." That made me so happy to know that she had wanted to see me and say hi!

 Watching Sister Whiting play the harp

 After most of the chaos in the kitchen has died down

 Thank you to all those that helped with the dishes! With my wrist I can only dry so many.

 A celebratory shot of whipped cream! Yes!

Yay for pie! Haha and I love Colin's face in this and John's face in the background!

 

After dinner was over we especially had a ton of leftover greenbean casserole... which I actually don't find that good. So, long story short, Colin and I took a whole casserole over to Celesta because turkey and greenbeans are her favorite food. And then I offered to give her dog a bath. So sometime in the next week I will be going over and giving her tiny dog a bath haha. It will be an adventure and I will try to make sure that I get pictures for it!

 

I am so grateful for the impact that this service project had on not only those we were serving but also those who helped serve! I am forever changed by this and I am eternally grateful!