Service with a smile

One area where I feel that J and I have kinda fallen down on, is in the area of service.  It was something that we both felt was important for our family to participate in, but it was never really high on our list to make happen.  Other things usually got in the way.

Then this year, I decided to make it a priority.  It started because the Noodle got involved with American Heritage Girls.  If you're not familiar with the organization, it is similar to Girls Scouts but with more of a Christian focus.  Giving back in the way of service is a major focus.  Love that!

We belong to a pretty big church.  It is easy to get involved but it is also easy to get overwhelmed and just go with the flow and just take, take, take.  It comes down to being intentional.  For both us and the girls.

The holidays provide a bunch of ways to give back.  One option that both AHG and our church participate in, is Operation Christmas Child.  The Noodle and I went to a packing party and had a blast!  We spent two hours and between the two of us, packed 25 boxes.  It wasn't even a dent in what was done, but we did our part.  The coolest part of the whole event?  Each of the boxes that was packed was prayed over--for the child who would receive it, for the items that would go inside, for the hands that were filling it.  Awesome!  Both Mei Mei and the Noodle also packed boxes themselves and so enjoyed picking out just the items that they thought their recipient would love.

Another opportunity came up through a mission that our church supports called Care for AIDS.  The focus?  Caring for the parents who have HIV/AIDS so that they can care for their children.  This is done through providing medicine, food, skills, community and faith.  300+ members of our church got together to package up 50,000 (yes, you read that right!) meals to send over to Kenya to help these families.

The missional community that we're a part of worked together and had the best time!  Afterwards, when we were eating together, we cooked up a bag/meal (of leftovers) and each sampled some of it. One bag is a serving size for 6 people (rice/lentils/vegetables/salt) and actually tasted pretty good.  It provided for some great discussions about how fortunate we are and all of the things we take for granted.

I know they are just a few things, but hopefully we'll keep plugging away.  Every little bit helps, and we've been given so much, we can be generous with our time and our service. "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.  Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon."--Isaiah 58:10.