Give so Others Can Live - A Fundraiser to Remember

October 15, 2016 (written November 2016)

The Donated Goods

The silence is calming as I observe my surroundings, the chair I rest in nestles my aching back and relieves my tired feet. I look around - willing my mind to do the work that my body no longer wants to perform. The objects, the thousands of donated goods, sit motionless before me. I swivel back and forth in a leather office chair as I continue my useless attempts at telekinesis. I look at the clock, 2 more hours till my help arrives, they're going to expect me to know what I'm doing.  The problem is that there is so much to do that I don't know where to start! 

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

In my weakness, the Lord did not bless me with telekinesis, which was a little unfortunate, but instead He blessed me with kinetic energy --- many able bodied volunteers arrived, willing to work hard, follow direction and give input.

Two of our youth volunteered with "A Beary Good Garage Sale" sign! :)

During the process of organizing the garage sale I didn't see the big picture. I was very task oriented with the here and now, "household goods here, electronics there. Price tags on these items, price signs on that table, etc." I didn't take the time to think about the "why" behind the fundraiser. 

Then we found out who we were providing the service for, a refugee family of four women. Questions came flooding into my mind: Where were their husbands? Did they have brothers? Where were they currently living? Were they happy? 

As I was driving I contemplated these questions and thought of possible scenarios that would cause these four women to flee their country. Tears streaked my cheeks and an overwhelming sense of importance in fulfilling this assignment became clear. I sent a group text to my Young Women's presidency asking for prayers as I immediately felt inadequate. 

Unfortunately, these four refugee women are not an anomaly. There are many others whose stories are similar. 

Does this story sound familiar?

"December 1833. At this time the Saints who had gathered in Missouri were suffering great persecution. Mobs had driven them from their homes in Jackson County; and some of the Saints had tried to establish themselves in Van Buren, Lafayette, and Ray Counties, but persecution followed them. The main body of the Saints was at that time in Clay County, Missouri. Threats of death against individuals of the Church were many. The Saints in Jackson County had lost household furniture, clothing, livestock, and other personal property; and many of their crops had been destroyed." (D&C 101 section heading, regarding early Latter-day Saints)

How about this one? 

Matthew 

11 ¶And when [the wiseman] were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt.

Now that we've established some clear examples of refugees, the question now becomes, "what can we do?" First off, I want to commend all that donated to the garage sale. We had a very successful turnout and made over $2000! Which is incredible! Many volunteered and it truly ended up being a group effort. The funds raised were used to fully furnish an apartment for these four refugee women. 

Just a few of the crew that helped finalize the apartment

Now, doing a massive garage sale is not something that we can always do but smaller acts of service are also sweet ways to help others and remember our Savior. 

 "A young man in a Saigon refugee family became the home teaching companion to a Brother Johnson who lived nearby with his large family. The boy related the following:

        “One day Brother Johnson noticed that our family had no kitchen table. He appeared the next day with an odd-looking but very functional table that fit nicely against the trailer wall across from the kitchen sink and counters. I say odd-looking because two of the table legs matched the tabletop and two did not. Also, several small wooden pegs stuck out along one edge of the worn surface.

        “Soon we used this unique table daily for food preparation and for eating some quick meals. We still ate our family meals while we sat on the floor … in true Vietnamese fashion.

        “One evening I stood inside Brother Johnson’s front door as I waited for him before a home teaching appointment. There in the nearby kitchen--I was surprised to see it--was a table practically identical to the one they had given to my family. The only difference was that where our table had pegs, the Johnsons’ table had holes! I then realized that, seeing our need, this charitable man had cut his kitchen table in half and had built two new legs for each half.

        “It was obvious that the Johnson family could not fit around this small piece of furniture--they probably didn’t fit comfortably around it when it was whole. …  “Throughout my life this kind act has been a powerful reminder of true giving” (Son Quang Le, as told to Beth Ellis Le, “Two-of-a-Kind Table,” Liahona, July 2004, 45; Ensign, July 2004, 63). Elder D. Todd Christofferson

I couldn't help but think that while I was contemplating what I'd write about from this experience, there were many others in our world contemplating where their next meal would come from... a truly humbling moment. 

And the Savior said:

“For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me.” 

Matthew 25:35-36

"As we consider the “pressing calls” of those who need our help, let’s ask ourselves, “What if their story were my story?” May we then seek inspiration, act on impressions we receive, and reach out in unity to help those in need as we are able and inspired to do so. Perhaps then it might be said of us, as the Savior said of a loving sister who ministered to Him: “She hath wrought a good work. … She hath done what she could.” I call that extraordinary!" (Sister Linda K Burton)

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In light of recent political events, I found myself re-reading this journal entry from November.  I have thought about posting it many times since then but for some reason never felt the timing was right.  I am not one to be political, especially on social media, and I am even hesitant to share this now for that very reason, but I do feel it is important to share the love, the light and happiness that can come into our lives when we reach beyond our normal capacities to serve those in desperate need.  This garage sale drained me from head to toe... but the blessings, the knowledge, and the joy I felt to serve these women was immeasurable.  While there are a lot of current questions as to what will happen with future refugees, let us try to love each other a little more, lift the burdens of those around us and engage in heartfelt, meaningful conversations.  Let us be humane and continue to pray for God to help lift us during our time of need.