Yesterday my thirteen year old daughter went to skid row - Skid row is an area in downtown Los Angeles that is home to many homeless - food kitchens - homeless shelters - crime, and sadness.. She volunteered with her youth group to work in a homeless shelter - She spent nine (9) hours playing with the many children there - holding them - loving them - reading to them - and just listening to them - a friendly face - a beautiful face - a loving face - that is my daughter...
She served a Thanksgiving dinner to the families that stay there - not knowing that 150 more hungry souls were going to come in from the cold - 150 more mouths to feed than expected.... I asked her - "Did everyone get to eat?" She said "yes" I asked her "What do you think about that?" She said "I have no idea how we did it - we even had a little left over..." My first thought and I am sure you are thinking the same.... Jesus fed 4000- 5000 with five (5) small loaves of bread and two (2) fish - I know He can handle 150 more mouths to feed...
Through out the day - I received updates via text - First one - "Mom - I am at the shelter u should c the kids they're so cute! I'm in charge of games".. Next text - "There are a lot of hungry people here" Next text - "Mom - thank you" - Next text - "Mom, I'm Exhausted...but I'm alive" - Next text - "Going to In N Out on the way home Love you" Next text "I'm 10 minutes away.. come get me"
When I picked her up at the church - the first thing she did was apologize - She apologized for getting angry at the thought of her sister getting something that she wanted (she thought I was buying an IPOD touch for her sister - I wasn't it) - she apologized for acting greedy at times... She said that she saw a bunch of kids - younger than her and others her age that had nothing... and they were happy.... She learned that true happiness isn't from what she gets under the Christmas tree but what she feels in her heart..... love from her family and friends and a Lord and Savior that died on the cross so that she can live forever.....
6 comments:
What a great way to help out! To bless the needy ones, lots of them hurting. Both spiritually and physically. And in her own good work that faith produced, she was the one who ended up getting blessed by the powerful lesson in life she discovered - to be contented and happiness does not come from things. Beautiful testimony, I say. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Thank you for sharing this awesome story...We have no excuse but just to be grateful...to the One Who deserves all our praise and thanks. Love to you.
That is an amazing experience but also exhausting. xoxo
SC
Thankful for your daughter's heart experience.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friend.
Glad she got to experience that and the fact that her heart was blessed and being able to see things a little differently now.
What a wonderful experience for her and a perfect time ! Thanksgiving!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving girl....
What a sweet daughter...with a precious heart for others....
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