Gratitude

Today, I was in the kitchen checking on our volunteers while they prepared lunch. We serve two separate lunch meals every day, one for our homeless residents staying at the Mission and one for any community member in need of a hot meal. We had two volunteers that come regularly on a weekly basis that were getting ready to serve the first group which is our residents. I was in the kitchen longer than normal when I witnessed something that I hadn't seen in a long time. While our volunteers were serving our residents, it came over me how kind and considerate they were towards our residents and community guests. I felt this overwhelming amount of gratitude come over me. It hit me like a ton of bricks how very thankful that I am for all of the volunteers that go way out of their way to come to the Mission and serve. They work so incredibly hard when they volunteer. I have a great passion for the City Mission. What we do here is very unique. We provide emergency shelter and we are the only facility that provides these services for miles around - the only one in Hancock County! We truly care for the people in need who walk through our doors.
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Volunteering at the City Mission is a big responsibly and a commitment. We are a non-profit organization that couldn't operate and help as many people as we do everyday without the volunteers that we have in place. I want our volunteers to know how much we respect and truly appreciate what they do for us here at the Mission! To me, it's important how one spends his or her time, and volunteering is one way in which a person can serve another person or group of people. Matthew 25:40 (KJV) states "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." This scripture reminds us to humbly serve one another as if we were serving Christ directly. You just never know when you might be the one who needs assistance. God calls us to lift one another up and what better way to do this than as a volunteer here at City Mission?

Proverbs 19:17 (KJV) "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."

Author: Wendy Tong

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