Endeavoring to Emulate...

The women in my neighborhood who are primary leaders in the church to which I belong.

I have been watching them. They have busy, human, demanding, stressful personal lives and yet they make time to give to the children of this community (and not just the kids who are members of our church).

They believe in serving and loving others. They organized an activity, that included approx. 40 children. Most of which speak very little English. Many are from Myanmar (Karen refugees), and one family from Iran joined us.

The activity:
Take ALL of them to the Museum of Church History and Art downtown for a tour:

Meet at the church by 8am on a MONDAY. We'll be there until 11am, and then come back to the church for a treat.

My first thought was: "Are You Kidding Me?" This would not be an easy task to see through.

I watched these ladies spend hours visiting homes in order to help each parent fill out permission slips--they had to personally visit to do this because of the language barrier. They tried to make sure every child was included. They spent subsequent hours; finding other compassionate folks who were willing to help drive the children, finding translators, in filling out name tags with all needed information (this is NOT as easy of a task as it sounds - we are all still trying to learn every body's names).

I watched them do this. NO complaining. None. I would have complained. A lot. I would have suggested that we do something easier, something close to home. Something far less stressful.

Observing today's events turned out to be very humbling for me. These ladies are truly compassionate. And, unlike me, they see the bigger picture. They are willing to do the hard thing for the sake of others. I feel so lucky to know such amazing people. These are the people who show up. And wasn't just the leaders. It was primary teachers and people who have really no affiliation with primary, but were willing to give up 5 hours of their Monday simply because they have a van.

I have learned a great lesson today. I hope not to forget it.

They went the extra mile, and the kids loved it. It was sooooo worth it!

I tagged along and took some pictures...

Dressing Up as the tabernacle builders:
Nay Say, Mou Keai (?), and Amou

The Future MOTAB
(this group really could sing!)

My Ada and Krysta, waiting for the fun to begin

Nay Say Paw: pioneer girl gathering eggs :)

My Eddie, and Connor: a.k.a. Brigham Young and Gordon B. Hinckley

About half the group: Sitting in those "comfy" tabernacle style benches ;)

Kim Moo Kim (& Nay Say Paw) displaying their wood grain work

Want more? Go to this blog.

And in the end, we ate Creamscicles with relish. Plus I learned a lot about some ways that I can improve myself. I'm glad to have lots of good examples close by.