Small Gifts and Serving Others

Tonight our 4H club got together and walked all around a neighborhood asking for canned goods for a local shelter and food pantry.  My kids weren't that excited about going, but they did want to see their friends.  After they got started it was hard to keep up with them as the group of boys and the group of girls were racing to get to the next house.  We got so many cans that we filled the backseat of our friend's Mustang!  It was a great service project for the children to do because they had an immediate response from most people who also wanted to give. It will be fun next week when we go to the shelter to meet with the director and take a tour of the place where the food will be distributed.  I know doing a canned food drive might not seem like a big deal, but since the kids are still young and this was the first time they were able to take part in it, it was nice to see that it was a rewarding experience for them. (We brought the puppies, too!)

4 Leaf Clovers 4H Club canned food drive

We also sponsor a girl in Haiti and our local team from church is leaving tomorrow to go on another medical mission trip to Chambrun, Haiti.  We enjoy getting a plastic shoebox and filling it with goodies for our little "sister" in Haiti.  We were able to do that again this week and B wrote her a note and we picked out flip flip sandals (hot pink, of course!), a mirror, toothbrush, crayons, colored pencils, a small doll, hair bows and rubber bands, stickers and whatever else we were able to fit in there.  We also sent her a few more pictures of our family and a short note to tell her that we think of her often. Our mission teams work with Pastor Esperandieu Pierre and Nehemiah Vision Ministries.  Click the link to visit their website!


I know that a canned food drive or a box of goodies are small things to give, but I really believe that small actions can make a big impact.  I'm praying that these small actions that my children take part in now will stir their hearts to be generous givers in large or small ways when the opportunity arises.  I want them to feel the joy of giving, with not expecting anything in return.  They already have such empathy for others and I am thankful that they want to show love and compassion to others.

Matthew 20:26-28 says, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

What do you do to serve others or what would you like to do to help someone else in your community or around the world?