Wow. August was my last post. Crazy.
Anywho...
I wanted to write to you about an opportunity. What I think is a wonderful, amazing, hands on, needed opportunity. I have taken my own sweet time to write to you about it because I do so not for your praise - it is nothing to me since I have the worthiness of Jesus and because the work is praise in itself! In fact, my goal was to do this work without anyone's knowledge.
However, 2 things have happened. 1. I'm drawn to share because it is such a special ministry that so many could enjoy and how can I keep that to myself. 2. I've been asked to find a "back up" person in case I'm unable to do it one week.
So here we are.
Every Tuesday morning since, gosh, July, I guess, I've been loading up the girls along with a pretty plastic tray (with sturdy handles) and two small coolers and heading over to the Sugar Land Community Center to gather 11 meals to deliver to some of the sweetest people you'll ever meet! It's called Meals on Wheels but it's so much more!
First off, the training that I did was at the Richmond Senior Center which is the coolest, most organized thing ever! I am excited to go out there sometime with the family and just hang out and play Bingo with those hip seniors! At their center they deliver meals and bring seniors to the center (or some come on their own) to eat their meals together because they have the space to do so. The one in Sugar Land does not.
The staff is very well organized and there were a TON of opportunities for any group, any age. Very exciting. But since my focus was Meals on Wheels, I got my badge and got signed up and passed on to Isaac.
Isaac runs the program at the Sugar Land Community Center and he's awesome. Knows all of those routes like the back of his hand. He took me on my first run and showed me around and introduced MaryEvyn and I to the people to whom we'd be delivering. The next week we were on our own.
So, I show up anytime between about 8-10 (during the summer it was closer to 10, now it's closer to 8!) and I give them my coolers for them to fill. One for cold stuff, one for hot. I deliver 11 meals to 6 or 7 houses. That's a typical route. Then Isaac helps put them in my car and we're off. We head out to Fifth Street and Staffordshire to deliver.
During the summer, Evy would help me load up the tray and then hop out and walk to the doors with me. Boy, did they all miss her when she had to go back to school. One of them still asks me about her. I can't wait to take her with me again over the holiday! I miss her help, too! Now, I leave Hollis in the car while it's running (I'm never out of sight) and she's napping (mostly) and I take the meals to the home.
It takes me about an hour and half from my front door and back again.
Now let me tell you just a few reasons I love it!
* The people. There is a man who would surprise Evy every now and then with a dollar! Once a woman gave her a sweet little angel ornament because Evy is "such a little angel"! Then there's Mrs. Acevedo who speaks Spanish to me...always about MaryEyvn! The sweet lady who takes care of her grandaughter and opens the door and calls me, "Honey". It makes me feel so young!
* The need. I love that this fulfills a real need. If I wasn't delivering this meal, either Isaac would spend his whole morning doing it himself or the organization would pay a hired driver to do it. I'm not just doing little "touch ups" of work, this is the nitty gritty. These people need this food.
* My soul. Sugar Land/First Colony give me an insatiable desire for more, bigger and better. Newer, faster, easier. For me. When I do this, every week my soul is actually fed a steady diet of gratitude. Not out of pity -gosh, no, sometimes I think these people are happier than I am! No, it's the house right off Staffordshire that has no AC and 7 people living in it. It's the neighborhood I wouldn't be in after dark (though I feel completely safe when I'm there for meals). As I drive home I am so very content.
* The lesson. I hope you didn't dare think that Evy happily hopped out of a safe, clean-smelling, 70 degree car to walk through gravel/dirt/mud in the 90+ degree heat with the air that somehow smells like dog poo and conquering her major fear of flying insects with a "happy heart" each week. Oh, no, no! We had many discussions and lessons on why we do it, our attitude, how it heals our soul. I didn't teach her to do it for thanks or to receive blessing or to be a "sweet little girl". I told her sometimes serving is just hard and we talked about how Satan likes to keep it that way. And, friends, I can tell you that on the rare occasions that I actually had to MAKE her get out of the car to walk to the door with me, it would be that very person that would affirm her work with some sweet words or gift. Sometimes that's all she needs to really drive the message home. God is good like that.
So, there you have it.
If you are interested in doing a route yourself look here: http://www.fortbendseniors.org/
If you are interested in riding along with me one week and just being an available back up. Then let me know.
