Wrapping up the First Quarter

We've been wrapping up many first quarter activities and classes. Our home school co-op is now on Christmas break. I'm happy to report the service class I taught ended very well.
I was concerned and feeling a bit defeated two weeks prior to the break. This last quarter the kids did some great service projects. We put together gifts for children in the hospital (a gift bag with a hand made card and a beanie baby), we cleaned up, cut back, and revitalized the yard of a lady who is losing her sight, we wrote letters to a friend serving in China and a soldier serving in Iraq, we made meals in jars for widows (or moms who could use an easy meal), we had guest speakers who coordinate medical services for children with serious health needs, we had a guest speaker who shared with us the need of children and poor in southeast Asia, and as our culminating project we raised OVER 1000 pounds of food for a local food bank. (Note there were only 11 kids in our class and 20 families in our co-op).
When we set the goal of 1000 pounds it didn't seem like too much, but as we were gathering I started to feel defeated. We only had 2-3 weeks to gather the food. And in addition I heard comments like, "Wow, 1000 pounds, that's a lot of food. It's hard to raise that much food, even for a big group, but you have a small group." For a minute I started to believe it was going to be too much. But the night I was feeling down, one of the kids called me because he was SO excited! Along with his brother and sister, he had collected 200 pounds in a day. Amazing!
The following day I read them the story of the Little Red Hen. Hard work gets the job done and these kids were working hard. I was so proud of them. During this quarter I saw them giving, serving and donating time, money, or talent.
I'm happy to report the night of our end of quarter event the kids had raised 987 pounds of food. We made a good effort and were only 13 pounds from our goal. Then one family arrived late and handed me a bag of food they wanted to donate. We weighed the food and...this is such a God thing...their bag weighed 13.8 pounds! We met and exceeded our goal!
What a great lesson of faith for the kids and for me. The Bible tells us we only need to have faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains.

"He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20-21

Story of the Day

There are some days that just make for a good story. Today was one of them. It was a cloudy overcast day and very chilly. I made a list of "To Do's" most of them were indoor activities like vacuuming, cleaning specific rooms, etc. But one thing on our list was to take fresh vegetables from the garden to our local food bank sponsored by our church. This would be our first trip of the season since planting occurred so late.
This is our 3rd year planting the garden for our own consumption and for the food bank. The kids and I love meeting those who are in tough times and benefit from this little food bank. The gals who work there are a true gift. They give of their time organizing this little endeavor and feed about 200 people a week.
Today we greeted the gals and brought raspberries, a variety of lettuces, arugula, an assortment of dark red, pink and white beets and Thumbelina carrots. We spent a little time talking with them and then were about to go on our way.
As we exited the food bank there is a line up of people waiting for it to open. First in line were two older women. One was missing her front teeth and the next lady had an accent. They said "Thank you" and we started walking to the car.
Immediately, I noticed someone trying to get my attention. I turned around and the little lady with the accent said, "My husband has been waiting for you." I looked out into the parking lot in the opposite direction. Walking toward us was an older, slightly feeble, looking man. Although he looked quite a bit thinner I recognized him instantly. She said, "Do you remember my husband, Joseph?" I looked at him and said, "You are the one who likes the GIANT zucchini I bring." (You know those zucchini that overnight grow to about 2 1/2 feet that most people don't want).
Joseph loves them. He is a Hungarian man who makes a favorite Hungarian soup with the big zucchini. In the past two years when he sees me arrive, his face lights up. The gals at the food bank always set aside the huge cabbage and zuc for him.
Joseph approached and greeted us. His wife said he waits in the car because he's not feeling well. Joseph then shared that he has lung cancer and is going through chemotherapy. We talked a bit about what's growing in the garden and what I brought today. At the close of our short conversation I tried to be encouraging and let him know we'd be praying for him.
As I got in the car, the kids said they remembered him from last year. I let them know he has lung cancer.
Driving home I starting thinking about the little things in life that we each can do. It really doesn't take much more effort to plant the seed packet instead of a couple of seeds. The cost is the same. The time weeding is about the same, but the blessings spread from this little effort are great. We are blessed to see Joseph and his wife and their smiling faces. We are blessed by seeing the gals work so hard giving their time at the food bank. And we are blessed to see the others wave at us while we drive away. It's good to know they're getting some fresh, healthy vegetables. It's all worth it and then some.
And when we least expect it, God shows us we now have a new person to add to our prayer board and lift up...Joseph.