Prior to our arrival, WillowBridge had been selected as a site for the United Way's Day of Caring! The crew assigned to our building showed up a couple of weeks ago (well...a representation of the team came over, anyway) and made a list of all the things we needed done. And then last Wednesday they came back...with friends!
My mom used to remind me that many hands make light work, and though I fear I may have rolled my eyes when she said it to me, I saw it in action in huge ways last week.
While I was busy whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and creating a little coffee and snack bar, Ryan oversaw the arrival of a whole bunch of mulch!
And then the volunteers arrived!
They were so kind to us - working with enthusiasm and vigor all over the property!
* They pulled weeds out of the ivy in the landscaping and trimmed bushes and trees all over the place.
* They took down the trampoline so it won't get battered by Indiana winters.
* They painted our entire shed, including the trim.
* They put a second coat of a paint on our deck.
* They moved the mulch out of the parking lot into locations where it looked so much more appropriate. :)
And at the end of the day, when they gathered up all the tools (the ones they'd brought along and the ones we had borrowed from Gateway Woods), the place looked so fresh and clean! As I circled around taking the after pictures, I thought about how long it would have taken our little team to accomplish all those tasks alone.
Could we have done it? Absolutely. But it would have taken us all through the fall, I'm sure. Now we have more time to work on relationships, team building, and constructing more vision for the future of this place. And for those gifts, we are so, so grateful.
Many hands really do make light work, and we are grateful for an office full of people who set aside a day to help us carry our burden of work!
It's a lesson I hope to remember when serving those around me. Things that may not seem huge to me might make ALL the difference to those I help. And it's true for you, too!
2 comments:
Days like these are so wonderful! Glad it was a productive day!
Oh, this is so cool! What a great way for an organization (United Way) to give back to their community.
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