Service

Things I have learned about service:
You don't get to choose who, where, or when you serve. You just always need to be ready! People's needs usually come at the most inconvenient times. Wouldn't you want someone to help you? Especially at a bizarre time?

I got to help clean the house of a friend who was moving on a Saturday afternoon. My blood sugar had plummeted and boy could I have used a nap. Instead, I grabbed a bowl of soup and snarfed it down. I grabbed some rags and gloves and headed out. I am sooo glad I did! What a great feeling to be on the other end of service for once! I am thankful to a couple of sisters who were able to drop everything and come help too even though we had a ward party in a few hours that everyone was getting food ready for. The best part was how thankful the recipient was. You just can't duplicate the high that service gives you with any type of drug!

The following morning, Joe was awakened by a phonecall saying that his cousin was lost in the mountains. He wanted to take Jansen to help him look for her but I was worried that they were looking for a dead body, not to mention that Jansen really needed to be resting from a long week of basketball games. The weather was cold and rainy and I didn't want to risk his health. So Joe head up the mountain with Search and Rescue.

Right after Sacrament, Eric Rogers had heard about the incident and sent his son Eli to come get Jansen. This time I knew that Jansen needed to help. It was later in the day and Jansen felt rested. The Elders Quorum from Hamilton, Blodgett Canyon, and Corvallis joined the search effort as well as some of the young men like Eli and Jansen.

When Jansen got home he told me that he almost died. I laughed and said, "Yeah, right" thinking he was joking. Apparently he wasn't. The bus loaded of search and rescue volunteers almost rolled off the muddy mountainside!!! They had to have everyone go over to the opposite side of the bus so it wouldn't go careening down a cliff. Everyone exited through the emergency back door. Nobody was hurt but the bus was stuck for a while.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.... Because the bus was stuck, Davey had to take another route up the mountain. He found Lanore stuck on some cliffs in a crevice just big enough for her body. She was alive and was suffering from hypothermia. She is in her 30s and has 2 kids. She had left a journal entry/suicide note which prompted the search rescue in the mountains.

I was so glad that my "men" could be a part of the rescue effort. Again, you don't get to choose who, when, or where you serve. Just remember to always be ready!