AHG Mini-Service Night - Family Style
Our secret service project that I have been hinting about the last few months is going to be done by the girls in our meeting this upcoming week...April 8th! We missed the chance to do it in March because of our record snow totals so we will be working on this at our next meeting, April 8th.
PARENTS: You can also help with this project and we gladly invite you to be part of AHG. Please show up about 7:15pm and meet us in room 300 (where you pick up and drop the girls off for the meeting). You will get to hear all about the purpose of this service project and be able to participate in it too with your daughter(s).
A little background on this service project:
About a year ago my husband and I were walking to our car in a local parking lot on a cold, snowy night. We just got done having a nice meal and a woman came up to us and was asking for some help. We learned who she was, her name and saw some kids with her also in a car. We don't know if her story or her name were the truth...but that isn't the point of this story. Before this woman left our side my husband asked if he could pray with her. - In this world today you never know what someone is going to say when you speak words like that to a stranger, but she was ok with it. A few simple words of encouragement, a hug...and then we both went to our different worlds.
My own brother lived on the streets in my hometown in Iowa for about 2 years. He lived in an alley and slept inside of a carpet roll and sometimes a tent. I know that he survived those years because he had help from others...others that didn't know his story or the reasons why he was on the street but knew that he needed to be shown that Jesus loved him. My brother didn't want to hear that from his own family any longer...but he was willing to hear it from others.
As we are shopping and filling up our carts at the local big box stores...did you realize that there were people actually living behind those last summer? Behind our Walmart on 55th street...tents were set up in the trees. On the Douglas Trail, just North of the road in Douglas...a tent was set up also in between a cornfield and trees.
One of our goals for our AHG Service this winter/spring was to get the girls to start thinking outside the box. Our challenge for the girls was this:
- to see 1 service log turned in from each AHG member this year
- to put one new type of service on their sheet that they haven't done before.
To help the girls reach these goals we came up with this extra special service project...
ON THE GO BAGS... "FOR THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE AS MUCH AS WE DO"
Throughout the Bible we see stories of how Jesus helped others. Here are a few of those verses...
Deuteronomy 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Luke 3:10-11 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
What is our AHG Troop going to do with all of this stuff we gathered in February?
A few things actually. Here is our plan:
Step 1. Collect items on our donation list sent out in February. This task is done! For some...this was an easy task and just required going into our cupboards or adding an extra item here or there on our grocery list. For others...this may have been a true sacrifice and one that required you to budget different this month since some of your dollars went to this project.
Step 2. Be aware of who around us who needs help. At one of the previous AHG meetings I asked the girls to notice who is around them in our community that needs help. This could be people that are already being helped or others that might be more obvious to us.
Step 3. Meet as a troop, learn about the service project and put items in bags. This is our next step and what we will be doing on Monday night. Remember parents...be there by about 7:15pm so you don't miss anything and can get there on time.
Step 4. Take the bag to your car as you are leaving AHG...and LEAVE IT IN YOUR CAR! Put this somewhere by the front seat, under the seat or somewhere for your child to grab it if you need it quickly.
Step 5. Include something of your own in the bag. Write a note, draw a picture, include a small Bible...anything that might be of encouragement to someone else. You never know how a simple note that says, "You are loved", "Jesus Loves You" or a hand drawn picture from a child with a heart on it might impact a person. Pray as a family about your bag and for the person that will be receiving it in the future. This is your chance to make an impact on another person that you will be meeting. You or your child may not have the words to speak to the person but you can leave a note with them that shows the people in this world do care for them.
You can also include a flyer that we have created for you that lists a few of the resources in our area. You can view this information at this link.
Step 4. As a parent/child or a family, find someone in the community that needs help and offer the bag of items to the person. You don't have to find someone immediately but do try to give the bag away before July 1st. I strongly encourage you to find someone so this can be hand delivered to the actual person who needs it. This should go from your child's hands (or your hands if you are concerned about safety) to the hands of the person asking for help.
A Few Q&A's
Why are we providing bags to those who are homeless or to those that are needing help? Can't we just drop these off at a food shelf?"
Dropping things off is certainly an option and are things that are being done all the time by groups in our community. Helping others out by filling up the shelves is a great thing and is something that is needed in our own community...but it is missing one very important aspect of service for your child and for you, the parent;
the contact with the person who needs the help. If you actually hand that bag of items over to someone and place it in their own hands, this act of service will mean so much more for you and for your child and may possibly make a connection with this person who is asking for help.. You never know how much a little eye contact, a simple smile and an offer of help will change a person on the inside. The person receiving the item may also feel more love as well...which is something we all need.
If we are packing all of these bags, are we going to overwhelm the homeless population in Rochester with our giving? All of the items in the bags that we will be providing to those in need will be good for quite awhile and should keep just fine. The time frame of when you pass out the bag is entirely up to you and your AHG child though. Maybe you want to pass it out during a day you know you will be off of work? Maybe you are wanting to pick one of the hot days in the summer when you know that someone will need some water? Perhaps you want to take one day as a family and pick one person that you see to help that day. The choice is really up to you. If you see that someone already has a bag by them that looks similar to the one you have, ask if they would like another. Chances are...if they are still holding a sign asking for help they will probably take another bag. :)
I hear that the people asking for help on the corners use this as their job. Why should we help them when this is all they choose to do? First, unless you have spoken with the person themselves to hear their story, please don't assume that you know the choice of why they are standing on that corner or asking you for help in a parking lot. The truth is...we don't know their story. We aren't walking in their shoes...and they really could probably use your pair of shoes more than you could use the ones that you are wearing right now. Second, ask yourself this...Does it really matter? Someone is asking for help. Someone is at that corner...doing one of the things that probably 99.9% of the people in America wouldn't do unless they absolutely had to in order to provide for themselves or family. These are the people that America wants to forget about. Our job as Christians is not to forget about them but to help them.
Can I just hand this over to someone at the corner while I am driving by or does my AHG child need to do that part of this? This service project is designed for either a parent and AHG child or as a family. This is a great opportunity for you to be the example for your child that Jesus has already shown for us..."help those in need and love others". Not only will this be a great opportunity for you to talk with your child about those in our area who need help but it will also help remind us that actions speak louder than our words sometimes. I know in our family...it isn't always easy to roll down the window and have something ready to give to the person asking for help. Sometimes I am too busy thinking about my other to-do's that I don't even recognize that a person is standing in front of me needing help...and of course, my kids see my reactions as well and hear any words that come out of my mouth as I see someone holding up a sign on a corner.
Be part of this AHG Service Project with your child...and help someone out in our community that needs some help.
Need a little more inspiration on why we should be helping? Read this story that was written by a woman just this past March about her moment when she realized that she was sitting down and having coffee with a homeless man.
Here is the link...right here. :)
If you have any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail at mominmn@gmail.com
Thanks!
Jessica Williams
AHG Troop 0521 Service Coordinator
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