A brief update

I just wanted to write a thank you really quick to everyone who participated in getting this blog started. The project was a success and I received an A on not only this project but my final as well. I was reading through posts you all have made and I saw some questions about my charity to be. I would really like my organization to be able to help homeless and under privileged children- Help in finding them homes, getting them educations, exposing them to the fine arts, and changing their lives for the better. 

If you have any more questions please post a comment or two and I'll be sure to answer as soon as possible.

thanks!

-D

From Uncle Henry

I was lost in life but searching.  The search took ten long years and others close to me on this journey died, but I always felt guided and protected.  My dear friend Doug finally got me going in the right direction.  Then he introduced me to Pamela.  She had traveled a long, difficult, and often painful path to get to our meeting place.  Along with two more dear friends and some very special relatives, she helped me find my way.  Pamela has walked beside me ever since – even when I’m not a fun or nice traveling companion.  She has endured lots of criticism for the path she traveled, but I know that her awesome act of service will change an entire family tree forever… and my love and gratitude for her is eternal.  Sincerely, hf

From Aunt Debbie

Here is a post my Aunt Debbie Sent me,

Every spring I am reminded of how an act of service from a not-very-close neighbor blessed our young family and changed a life in a small way.  This reminder comes whenever I eat fresh asparagus, which we find in the grocery stores at an affordable price sometime after winter has left.  Thirty years ago I ordered several boxes of fresh asparagus from a wholesale supplier, intending to preserve the tasty vegetable by breaking off the tough ends, washing the tender stalks, blanching them in boiling water, dipping them in ice water, cutting them into pieces, packing them in Ziploc bags, and putting them in the freezer to be enjoyed all through the year.  My husband Chris was not so excited about my purchase.  The only kind of asparagus he knew was the store-bought canned variety--mushy, ghastly in color, sometimes hard to chew, and fairly tasteless.  However, I assured him that fresh-frozen asparagus is nothing like that which sloshes out of cans, and I bought the asparagus, not knowing for certain when it would arrive. 

                I was expecting our third baby at the time, and had been hoping that the asparagus would come before the birth.  As it turned out, I was in the hospital after a Caesarean-section delivery when I learned that our asparagus had been unloaded at the designated pick-up location.  Betty Griffeth, a neighbor that I didn’t know very well, called to tell me about it.  She also said that she had picked up my order, and that she would take care of it for us.  So she is the one that broke off the tough ends, washed the tender stalks, blanched them in boiling water, dipped them in ice water, cut them into pieces, and packed them in Ziploc bags.  Then she brought them to our home, all ready to go into our freezer.  I still remember what I felt like when I saw her standing before me with that labor of love in her arms.

                Chris was reluctant to taste it when I first cooked some of that asparagus for a meal, even though it didn’t look a bit like the asparagus of his youth.  But I wasn’t worried about whether or not he would like it.  Brilliantly green, crisp-tender and steaming with melted butter—it tasted absolutely delicious to both of us, and chewed up nicely, too.  Chris has liked asparagus ever since. 

                Yesterday I bought a bundle of asparagus from the produce section in the grocery store.  I will prepare it as a side dish in the next couple of days and, as happens every spring, either Chris or myself will comment about Betty Griffeth freezing asparagus for us so many years ago.  Betty moved away and we haven’t stayed in touch with each other, but Chris and I think of her often with gratitude and almost wonder.  Betty gave us a life-long gift, and she probably doesn’t even know it.   

-Aunt Debbie

A Special Thank You

This actually is not an experience I had, rather it is an act. I set this blog up to serve two purposes, one being the subject which is serivce, the other being a school project. As those of you who read this know, I sent an email out to my friends and family as an invitation. My loving sister Karissa really took to the idea of this blog, and being the angel she is, she posted the link to her husband's family blog. She married into a family with 12 kids so that little post means a lot to me. My mom has also been a great help in making this blog and project a success. I would like to thank my mom and especially my sister for their  help.

-D

From Aunt Andrea

My Aunt Andrea sent this--

Several years ago, at the tender age of 34, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis.  I have seen teenagers with mono bounce back in no time, but because I was nearing the maximum textbook age for contracting this pesky virus, it hit me with a vengeance.  Even after the acute stage ended, I found that even the lightest activity was exhausting.  At the time, I was a busy home schooling mom and was doing my best to keep up despite my illness.  Many amazing people came to my aid with meals, babysitting, household help and words of encouragement.  I was so grateful for every act of kindness, but there was one in particular that stands out in my mind as being extra special.  One early morning I heard some unusual noises outside on my front porch.. I opened the door and there was one of the busiest women that I knew at the time, a wonderful lady named Peggy Hall.  She was wearing dirty garden gloves, and was holding a small garden trowel in her hands.  To my amazement and delight, my flower beds were full of beautiful purple pansies!  I was overwhelmed by such thoughtfulness. I didn’t even know what to say.  With everything going on in my life at the time, my flower beds had been the least of my concerns!  She told me that she had remembered me mentioning my love for flowers and that she wanted to brighten my day.  Not only did she brighten that day, but also every day since that I have reflected on that happy and treasured memory.    

Grandma

Here is an experience my cousin Briahna sent me about our Grandma--

I can think of countless instances in my lifetime that someone else's goodness has touched my life in memorable and profound ways, but one person and experience comes to mind very vividly.  My Grandma, Zoe Christensen, was one of those individuals who had charity written all over her.  Her kindness, generosity and devotion to helping others during her life here on Earth impacted numerous people.  When I was about 15 years old, my Dad suffered from a severe neck injury that immediately took him from treating 60+ chiropractic patients a day to being a chiropractic patient himself.  In order to receive the treatment he needed, my family moved to Southern Texas for the summer while I stayed back with my Grandma and Grandpa to participate in the community theatre production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  It was in those couple of months that I lived with my grandparents that I more fully came to realize the goodness that made up my dear Grandma.  I learned so much from simply observing her everyday acts of selfless kindness and quiet charity.  Daily I would see her doing something good to help and show love to someone else.  Whether it was cooking a meal and delivering it to a family in need, helping someone clean their house, visiting her "dear friends" who were stuck at home or in a hospital due illness, organizing church events to benefit the sisters in our church congregation, or simply making her home a bit of heaven on Earth while caring for Grandpa and I, Grandma was always in full service mode.  She arose early and immediately got to work.  She had a purpose everyday -- an unvoiced goal -- to reach out to someone that day and do a good deed... not for self-promoting or egotistical reasons, but because she knew that that is what Christ would do.  I learned so much from her that summer, and throughout the remainder of her life.  I learned that there is more to life than just being busy doing “stuff”.  Life is the most rewarding when your time is filled with charitable acts, a selfless mind set, the accompaniment of the Holy Ghost and a fearless determination to dig in and work hard.  I like to think that amongst the many wonderful things my Grandma represented and did in her lifetime, the motto "Roll up your sleeves and do good deeds!" applies to her most perfectly.  I hope to someday emulate my wonderful Grandma and set aside my own agenda so that I can make someone else's burden lighter by reaching out to love and help them each day.  I pray that the legacy of hard work, Christ-like charity, unconditional love, patient tolerance, selfless generosity and unwavering devotion that my Grandma left behind can be carried on by me and my family.  I know that a person like my Grandma can truly change the lives of others by simply doing and choosing good.  I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven for blessing me with such a wonderful Grandma who touched my life, and look forward to my reunion with her in Heaven when I can thank her for setting such a beautiful example.

 

- Briahna Perkins

After Church

I'm going to preface this by saying that I love my parents dearly and they take very good care of me. With that said this is an experience I probably never will let them forget.

 When I was three years old, my parents forgot me at church. My three sisters and I had all gone to the bathroom before we left the building our congregation met in. When I finished I left the building for the car and was petrified to find that it was not there. By first instinct I turned around to go back into the building but the door was locked. I knew there were other doors so I circled the building trying them as I went. When I finished checking I sat on the curb and realized I was alone, no one else was there. An old woman from across the street heard me crying and came to sit with me. She asked me my name, why I was alone, and where I lived. I pointed her in a direction but who can trust a three year old?  After a few minutes she had distracted me and stopped my tears. It was only ten or so minutes later when my parents returned after realizing they had left me. To this day I remember that old woman, I'm not sure that she still lives there, but she did me a great service by comforting me that day.

-D