H2O - Helping Hands Outreach
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The idea:
Serve the people of Mary’s Place in honor of Mother’s DayThe resources:
A budget of $0, less then 30 days to planThe result:
Over 250 people served a full breakfast! Over 30 volunteers!With God, anything is possible!
On Saturday, May 3, 2008, a group of Northwooders served a brunch to over 65 families at Mary’s Place. The day was filled with smiles, laughter and several touching moments. One such moment came when Ya Zeng and his five siblings shared a Mother’s Day song in Hmong. Ya is 17 years old and has been "parenting" his siblings for the past 4 years. They grew up in the Philippines, then came to the states to live with relatives after their parents’ deaths, eventually ending up at Mary’s Place last summer. Ya has such a heart for the Lord and this family touched the hearts of everyone in the room that day. Some other children also took the opportunity to share poems or songs for their moms. In the end, each mom was given a gift bag which included a Bible, candy, a small gift and a special Scripture verse. It was truly a wonderful day!Thoughts on the day from some of the volunteers:
"One thing that stands out was looking out at the people already seated and ALL the Northwooders busy serving them. I thought "WOW, look at the heart of Northwooders." It made my heart FULL of joy and my eyes teary.""I couldn’t help but notice how the mom’s LOVED to be hugged and told "Happy Mother’s Day." I think it meant a lot to them to be recognized and appreciated."
"The thing that touched me the most was at the end of the first brunch, a 12 year old boy came up to me at the welcome table and said, "here, these are for you" and he handed me ALL the Mother’s Day bookmarks he had made! He let me give him a big hug; I will never forget his face. What a blessing and a sweet memory."
Want to make some memories like this of your own? The next H2O event will be on Friday, May 30th. Join us for the Hope Academy End of the Year Family Picnic! We need volunteers from 3pm-6pm to help set up, serve and clean up. If you are interested, please write "Hope Picnic" on your white communication card or email us at helpinghandsoutreach@gmail.com.
