This year for a service activity, we wanted to serve someone close to us. Jared had the idea to do something for RaeCarole and Will in our ward. I think we have told you about them before. They are an older couple that have been married for about 2 years. She has MS and is wheelchair bound and Will is blind. They have been struggling a lot and we have heard that they have especially been struggling with feeling connected to people in the ward because they feel like they are in a different place in life than most members of the ward. We have visited them a couple of times, but we wanted to do something a little bigger for them. Jared talked with RaeCarole one Sunday asking about if they had any plans for the holidays, and she mentioned that they didn’t have anybody to have Thanksgiving or Christmas with but themselves usually. They have some family in the area, but they are disconnected from them, so we wanted to give them a traditional Thanksgiving meal. The week before Thanksgiving, we cooked a large Thanksgiving meal for them and took it over and had dinner with them. We had Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls, Veggies, and even mini Pumpkin Pies.
We took it over to them and had a nice evening with some smooth jazz playing in the background. They were really grateful and made lots of funny comments. RaeCarole had a weigh-in the next day, so she didn’t eat a ton, but said she would have all of the leftovers the next day. Will constantly joked and said, “She is so funny, thinking that there will be any food leftover in the fridge after tonight. I am gonna come out here at midnight and eat it all.”
We wanted to celebrate Christmas a little early with them as well. We gave them each large stockings filled with gifts. Treats, little games, blankets, etc. We gave them lots of gifts that were specifically helpful for their disability. For Will, his specific gift was a new set of headphones. He uses headphones a ton to listen to books, music, sports, etc. since he can’t see. RaeCarole’s specific gifts were lots of little things that can help with her hand mobility since she feels like her hands are getting weaker and weaker.
RaeCarole shared a somewhat sad experience with us. In Relief Society a few weeks ago, they were having a few people tie ends of blankets that they were donating. RaeCarole told us she was super excited to volunteer to help because she had been wanting to serve and doesn’t feel like she had been able to. She got a blanket and she was heartbroken to find out that because of her hands, she wasn’t able to tie it. The knots were too small and she couldn’t get her hands to do what she wanted them to do. So, we decided that we wanted to help her serve others as well. So, when we get back to D.C. we are going to help her do a service project for others. We are going to have a night where we work through some service ideas with them.
- The Spirituality Project. It is the worlds largest collection of personal stories with God. You can submit a story sharing your experiences that you have had with God so that the people at Spirituality Project can share it with others that are struggling. We will give them a chance to share their stories, which I think will also help strengthen their testimony, which is something that has been difficult for them.
- Brighten A Day. This is a cool website because it gives people the opportunity to brighten peoples days through many different mediums. The options for service activities are: Send handwritten notes/cards to cheer up recipients, have short conversations with seniors through video chat/telephone calls, send videos with encouraging message, show off your talents (Like singing, dancing, poetry, etc.), assemble care packages for retirement home residents or children in the hospital.
- We want to do something with them that specifically corresponds to something in Light the World so that when people talk about that at church, they can participate in that conversation. Some of the recommendations that the church gives that they could participate in is “Give your neighbor a compliment, learn how another culture celebrates Christmas, Watch The Christ Child with family or friends, Text someone, “I’m grateful for you”, leave an uplifting comment on social media, pray for someone by name, etc.
We also have been continuing our service with Alexis in Ecuador. We have received a few letters from him and sent him a few pictures. We have also sent him a birthday and a Christmas present. It has been fun to hear from him and learn a little bit more about him. We will add this to the previous year’s service to update it.
As always, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve and for you for asking us to do this. Even though our service was very last minute this year, it always helps us to have service on our mind.