Month: August 2020

Love and Care Ministries has been a passion of mine for years now. I am thankful that Mark Hewitt, the Executive Director, and his people are doing great work for the kingdom of God. Hundreds of poor and homeless are being provided for with food, clothing, showers, with personal and spiritual support from good people who know how to help. I was blessed to spend 4 days with Janet in the kitchen and Mike in clothing. We are thankful for the Love & Care volunteers who pickup food from the local restaurants and grocery stores. Because of their generosity they are able to  provide everything from mountains of bread and pastries to containers full of fried chicken, casseroles, and tons of fresh veggies for salads. It was good to see the walk-in freezer in Janet’s kitchen full of food ready to be served.

During this COVID time in Abilene, I was glad to see that everyone was taking precautions from food handling to wiping down counters and spraying areas where people were gathering to eat and in areas where they hand out clothes, hygiene kits, and other necessities. Mark’s daughter Magan helps operate Love & Care Ministries. Her two children, Branson and Trinity, have spent this summer helping as needed in all areas of the facilities. It’s a family operation. Mark’s mother, Carolyn, works in the front office. Maxine, Carolyn’s sister, works in the kitchen. Robert and his wife Paula, work in clothing and have been here for the best part of a decade or more. Tina is responsible for washing and hanging clothes, and then organizing them by size for men, women, and children. Mike runs the clothing and shower area. He and I spent 3 days getting clothes together for the homeless and poor that came to visit. The clothes are given to them. We give each person a large bag to carry all they could put in a bag. You see, they have a lot of clothing to move before Mission Thanksgiving this November. There is an abundance of clothing. For this, we are thankful to God and thankful for everyone who donates. The need will still be here this fall. Please think of them when you are cleaning out your closets. Their main needs for the winter are socks, blankets, sleeping bags, coats and warm clothes for all ages, men and women, boys and girls. Someone is always asking for a backpack. And food.

Probably the highlight of my 4-day visit was having Mayor Anthony Williams come and visit us and praying with us during his tour of Love & Care on Thursday. He had a good word of encouragement for everyone. After my day was finished that Thursday, I went home with a slight fever. Dennis watched over me for the rest of the weekend and on Monday my doctor decided I needed to get tested for COVID. I was positive. We immediately called Mark Hewitt and let the mayor know we had all been exposed. Needless to say, I was “THAT volunteer at THAT non-profit” he talked about in his press release announcing that he had COVID too. We found out that Mike and his wife and child also had it. Luckily, no one else got it during this time. As of today, we have all recovered, and we are all back at work, including the mayor.

I am thankful that Funeral Directors Life (Kris, the Executive Staff, Supervisors, and the Board of Directors) allows us to have these opportunities to minister to one another at whatever level we know best. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the poor and homeless of the Big Country. I am thankful to all of the employees and volunteers who keep the Love & Care wheel turning. I am thankful for Mark Hewitt and his executive staff for their hard work. I am thankful for the doctors and nurses who took care of us during our quarantine. I am thankful for the medicines we were given that made us feel better and quickly recover. I am thankful that I didn’t have to go to the hospital. And I pray for those who are struggling because of this virus. I am also thankful to be back with my FD family who have supported me as I recovered. And I am especially thankful for the marketing department and it’s peeps who helped me continue to work remotely during this time by supporting me and helping continue to push projects along. We are supremely blessed here at this company. These are things I will take with me for the rest of my life. And thankful that God is in the center of us all.

You know that phrase, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans”? Looking back on my mini sabbatical, that’s the phrase that comes to mind. I had all of these grand plans to knock out dozens of projects in and around the house, wake up early every day and work out, read a few books, etc. Don’t get me wrong – I did complete some of these things, but what I came to realize I needed most out of this time off was rest. This year has thrown me (and all of us, am I right?) for a loop, and I didn’t realize how much it affected me until I had time to slow down and rest. I had time to check in on myself and on others who were feeling the weight of the pandemic, too.

Another thing that will stay with me from this mini sabbatical is my time volunteering at Meals on Wheels. I have done the delivery route with FD for a few years, but there was something about the joy on their faces this time around that really made it an impactful experience for me. Even a short conversation with a stranger had the weight to make their day and mine, and that’s something I’ll never forget.

Thank you to Kris for allowing me this time off to rest and reflect, and to Rob, David, and John who covered for me while I was away. Now, more than ever, I feel very thankful to be working at FD.

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to give back and serve in meaningful ways.  This year for my Helpers of People Leave I worked with Beltway’s Boots on the ground ministry.  My plan at the beginning of the year was to serve at my church’s (Beltway) kids camp but COVID happened and things changed.  God wasn’t surprised though!  When summer began drawing closer, I began to panic because I didn’t have a plan and couldn’t think of a meaningful way to serve in this mess.  In one of my attempts to find a way to serve, I reached out to Jeff Smith (aka Fuzzy) who heads up Boots on the Ground.  I imagined physical labor and serving in a manual capacity since that is what this ministry does at it’s heart.  However, the Lord (and Fuzzy) had other plans in mind.  When asking Fuzzy if there was a way I could serve I began offering ideas, but he immediately jumped at the opportunity and responded “Excel!”  I’ve done some volunteer work with Beltway’s men’s ministry in the past and Fuzzy has watched my handiwork, so he knew he was asking something I was capable and willing to do.  It’s incredible to see the Lord use me uniquely in a way I’m gifted and aligns with the needs of others.  Fuzzy had been thinking for a while he needed some time of inventory management system for Boots on the Ground and it wasn’t until we connected that he realized I could help.  Let me start by saying he had nothing at all but a warehouse full of things and some thoughts.  So we had to start from the ground up and find a way to track what Boots on the Ground has in inventory and consider a way to convert raw inventory to products in some cases (such as making a ramp out of lumber).  So my service time was spent getting inside the head of Fuzzy (it’s scary in there!) and figuring out what he needed and wanted and making something that would incorporate into his workflow and was also very user friendly.  After some back and forth, we ended on a project that will help him tremendously by letting him be able to track inventory as well as create project sheets (and even has some fancy user interfaces to make things simple while minimizing the manipulation of the workbook itself).  To see the smile on his face and the appreciation in his eyes was truly a rewarding sight.  It is amazing how Jesus orchestrated our working together and in the end how fun and fulfilling it was to be able to give from a place the Lord has blessed me and help others for the benefit of His kingdom.  I’m blessed for the opportunity to serve and will be checking in on Fuzzy soon to see what else I can do to help him.