Community

After finishing his latest time of studying a tribe in Africa, an anthropologist was packed and waiting on transportation for a ride to the airport.  Encircled by the children, he decided to pass the time by suggesting a game to play.  He had purchased candy and sweets in town.  Finding a basket, he placed all the candy inside.  He then drew a line in the dirt and told the children to line up behind it.  When given the signal, the first child to run to the tree and get to the basket would win all the sweets.  On the command of “Go,” something unusual happened.  All the kids joined hands and walked to the tree together.  Upon reaching the basket, they shared the candy and happily ate it.  Surprised at the outcome, the anthropologist asked why they had all gone together and not tried to win everything in the basket.  A young girl replied, “How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?”  Ubuntu, in the Xhosa culture means: “I am because we are.”  Although he had studied the tribe for months, the anthropologist felt he was just beginning to get a glimpse of their true essence.

Joe Becigneul was at Boston’s Logan Airport waiting on his flight.  He saw a man, Tim, who appeared to be both blind and deaf.  His sister was signing into his hand so he could feel her words.  Tim was escorted onto Joe’s row on the plane.  The man on the aisle changed seats with Tim, who was to sit in the middle, in hopes of making it an easier flight for him.  The stewardesses tried to communicate, but were not successful.  The man who had changed seats helped open the creamer for Tim’s coffee.  Knowing there was a need, a flight attendant paged to see if anyone on the flight knew sign language.  That’s when Clara, 15 years old, offered to help.  She had learned ASL because it was the easiest foreign language to learn, due to her dyslexia.  For the rest of the flight, Clara made sure Tim had what he needed.  The other passengers were fascinated to watch the conversation between the two as they spelled out a letter at a time into each other’s hands.  Joe commented, “I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many people rally to take care of another human being.  All of us in the immediate rows were laughing and smiling and enjoying his obvious delight in having someone to talk to.  Huge kudos to the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines who went above and beyond to meet Tim’s needs.  I can’t say enough about this beautiful young woman named Clara who didn’t think twice about helping her fellow passenger.  It was a beautiful reminder, in this time of too much awfulness, that there are still good, good people who are willing to help out.”

 

May our love for God help us to love others well, too.

 

 

Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39

Meeting Needs

 

Koralie Pena is in 2nd grade.  Due to an early lunch schedule, she and other students in her class are allowed to bring a snack for the afternoon.  One day, Ruby Pena asked her daughter if all the other kids brought snacks each day.  Koralie responded, “No not everyone does.”  Upon further questioning, Ruby found out the students without snacks sit and complete work while the other students enjoy their snacks.  The next day, Ruby took additional snacks for both Koralie and her son Noah’s PreK 4 class to share with the kids who didn’t have snacks.  She plans to do that weekly for the rest of the school year so “no kid will be left without!”

Gwendolyn Stulgis was married in Ohio in the spring.  She was able to wear the dress of her dreams, costing nearly $3,000.  Gwendolyn thought it was not good that the bridal gown was only going to be worn once.  That’s when she came up with an idea and posted on Facebook that she wanted to give her dress to another bride who might not be able to afford such a nice dress.  Stulgis’ one condition for getting the dress was for the future bride to have the gown dry cleaned after wearing it and then pass it on to another bride for free.  Other brides have also joined the group “Shared Dream Dresses” and are doing the same.

 

Some of the high school students, at Canterbury School in Ft. Myers, Florida, were discussing how their grandparents were in need of additional help when it came to technology.  That’s when Aaron and Christian realized that the senior citizens in their community probably had the same needs.  Thus, the forming of the Club for Literacy Education Outreach (CLEO).  “We really wanted to make an impact on seniors in our community after experiencing the struggles our own grandparents were having with technology,” commented Aaron.  The Brookdale Senior Living Facility is close to the high school.  One day a week, the club members walk to Brookdale to offer assistance with any technical questions or problems.  They help with phones, email, texting pictures, clearing out the inbox, and other requests.  The residents are thrilled with the technology help and enjoy that the students also take time to sit and visit with them afterwards.  Because of the success, other CLEO groups have started.  Aaron stated, “We are excited to partner with friends at other high schools to start a CLEO club.  Soon there will be chapters at Fort Myers High School, Mariner High School, as well as a few schools in North Carolina and Kentucky.  We have also partnered with the National Honor Society to try to expand the project throughout the nation.”   

 

Whether individually or as a group, may we, too, find ways to meet the needs of others.

 

 

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

2 Corinthians 9:12

 

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

Titus 3:14

Stepping up to do the Right Thing

 

It was a big district basketball game between Cotton Center and Amherst.  During the third quarter, one of the Amherst players fouled out.  Since they only had five girls on the team, this was a big disadvantage for the close scoring game.  That’s when Troy Moses, Cotton Center’s Head Coach, made an important decision.  The teams would actually play four on four, with a 5th Cotton Center player standing at half court not taking part in any of the plays.  The unexpected act of kindness was a big surprise to the fans and officials.  Cotton Center won the game 44-32.

The women’s softball teams from Southeastern University and Grand View University were playing a game.  The SEU Fire Athletics were ahead 4 to 1.  At the top of the 5th inning, the bases were loaded for the Grand View Vikings.  Senior Kaitlyn Moses stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam.  As she rounded first base, Kaitlyn fell to the ground, due to an injury.  She was unable to run or walk the bases.  That’s when a few of the rival team players picked Kaitlyn up, carried her to touch each base, and helped her score for her team.

 

Nichole Elder drives a school bus.  A sixth-grade boy had been talking about how the elderly lady, who lived by him, hardly ever left her house to do anything.  Nichole tried to explain how hard it may be for her to do certain things.  Tuesday morning, the boy was not at the bus stop.  Elder saw that he was shoveling the snow off his neighbor’s porch.  Since she was a few minutes early, she waited for him to finish and get on the bus.  When the kids asked why she waited she replied, “Anyone helping someone deserves a few extra minutes.”  When the boy got on the bus, the other kids began to question him about his neighbor.  Wednesday morning, 7 children brought either cards, blankets, or food for the older neighbor.  Nichole delivered the gifts after work that day.  “Now every day she stands on the porch and the whole bus waves good morning.  I am so proud of him for stepping up and doing the right thing.  He taught all the children something important.”

 

May we, too, be willing to step up and do the right thing and encourage and build others up in the process.

 

 

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11