I loved reading Brittany's
posts last week about gratitude. Focusing on someone else's problems is always a great shot in the arm for poor-me-syndrome. It's like the man who feels sorry for himself because he has no shoes, until he meets the man who has no feet. I have feet and I have shoes--more than one pair, so I am one lucky chick.
A couple of years ago we took a family vacation to Mexico to work in an
orphanage. We took 5 of our 7 children, the oldest being 19, the youngest 8. We bent rebar, mixed cement, plastered walls, painted out-buildings and did general clean-up. After a good day's work, we played with our new friends. We rode bikes with the toddlers and small children and cuddled the sweet babies in the nursery. We went swimming, played "street" hockey and soccer. After a week of hard work and sleeping on a cement floor, my children, even the 8 year-old said it was the best vacation they'd ever had and yes, we had been to Disneyland just a few months before.
So, to get to the point, serving is fun and this past weekend my family got to have lots of fun. Friday evening we were able, with our ward (church group), to help host the carnival for the Kauri Sue Hamilton School. This is a school for kids with special needs. Saturday we were able to
run participate in the
Kickin' it for Kendra 5k. Even my 11 year-old son who complained when we woke him up early and said his body ached all over, had a great time.
Bottom line is, when you help someone else, you're really helping yourself.
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| Tess playing "street" hockey |
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| Morganne and Bri riding bikes with the toddlers |
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| Morganne playing soccer--me in the background being goalie |
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| Me and my sister-in-law Robyn standing by a building we just painted |
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| Bri, in the background, plastering walls |
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| Me, visiting the nursery |
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| Cassie, crafting with her new friends |
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Luke painting rocks
Ric with his brother Rod working with cement |
