A little over a month ago Avitra asked me if I would be interested in participating in the Serving the City as One project. Judging by the name I had a general idea of what the objective was but for clarity I needed her to expound. It turns out that our church is the hub for the NW/NE side of town. As such, all participating churches, groups, and organizations located in our “zone” would be responsible for supporting a variety of community service projects. Sounds good so far. However, my immediate follow up question was when will the event be held? Her response: April 2nd. A red flag went up immediately. April 2nd is the opening weekend of turkey season. She kicked back with strong logic and I quickly changed my tune.
Saturday morning rolled around and we hit the road. Our destination was church for breakfast and team assignments. Avitra and Zachary supported a cleanup team while Adrian and I supported a construction team. Not expecting a construction role we were ill prepared. Once we arrived at the location our team was broken into sub teams. With the tasks identified I drove back home to gather necessary equipment. With the right tools finally in hand Brother English, Adrian, Phoenix and I worked to strip flaked paint, sand and repaint a wheelchair ramp. We also completed landscaping projects. Deacon Alexander and Brother Walker worked on replacing the door, floor and window in a storage shed.
I was really proud to watch my son execute his task with minimal guidance. That was one of those internal snapshot moments. As we were applying the first coat of stain to the ramp the homeowner arrived and immediately expressed her gratitude. The look on her face was all the confirmation we needed to know we were a blessing to her.
I asked Adrian what he thought about the experience. He expressed how good it felt to assist someone who did not have the health or financial means to complete the projects we completed. I’m sure that statement summarizes the sentiments of each and every volunteer that participated. Ultimately, that’s why we volunteer.