Author: Vicki Dickson

What a blessing to have this week to help other people and that is exactly what I did! The first part of the week, I went to see my mother who lives in an independent living facility in Tulsa near my sister, Judy. My mom went to live near Judy about a year ago and is doing great! Judy takes such good care of our mom and we are so grateful for her doing this, since my father passed away in 2015. Judy and I are very close and she was very grateful that I came up to spend some time with my mom, which gave my sister a break. My mother is 87 years old and is in good health! She broke her hip back in 2015 and has to be in a wheelchair, so our assistance is very much needed. My mom and I worked puzzles, played cards and just visited about my dad and her family. She has met so many friends and everyone in the facility truly loves my mom and loves being around her. She has such a positive outlook on life, so I got just as much out of the visit as she did!

The second part of the week, I worked at PACN of Conroe. It is always such a pleasure to work with these ladies and men who volunteer their time to help our young girls and boys going through such a difficult time in their life. When I called Teri, the Administrator and asked if she could use me, she immediately said yes. She is always so grateful of my time. She said since I had done such a good job the last time I volunteered, she asked me to organize and sort out the baby food, diapers and other items that are donated by our local merchants. It is amazing to see how much is donated to this organization. This organization is really making a difference in this community. Thank you FDLIC for the opportunity to serve in this capacity!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Kris Seale and the Board of Directors of FDLIC for allowing me to take some time off this past week to serve others. I, again, volunteered to help out at the Pregnancy Resource Center (PACN) here in Conroe. When I first asked Teri McGiffort, the Administrator, if she could use my help, her first response was “Always!”. I found out later that 85% of the people that help out there are volunteers. What a blessing to be able to be a part of this ministry! I spent the most of my time there working in the store, next door to the center. My job was to go through the donations, mark the items and price them for the families who come through there. The people who work there are amazing! Listening to their stories was a blessing. One of the girls whom I was working with told me that her mother, who ran the store, had had an abortion when she was a young girl. She expressed some grief for the fact that she could have had a sister. She, herself, had even considered to have one! But, by the grace of God, she didn’t. This was the reason that she was there helping out. She wanted to maybe make a difference in another young girls life and, hopefully, share there is hope!

My plans are to continue to volunteer in this organization. I truly have a heart for these young girls and their unborn babies. I know God is allowing me the opportunity to serve in some capacity during these times when I am available.

Thank you again for the opportunity and time that was spent helping others!

Vicki D.

I spent this week along with another week of vacation (driving to Lubbock to see our grandson, Zach, who is involved with the Saddle Tramps for the Texas Tech Athletics and our granddaughter, Carson, who is also attending Texas Tech University).  Had a great time with family and friends during this time attending the Texas Tech vs. Kansas State game.

I came home from Lubbock with the flu, so spent the next 4 days in bed recuperating from this bug(:  Not a fun time!  However, after that I was able to spend some time volunteering for PACN (Pregnancy Assistant Center North) in Conroe.  It is always such a honor to be able to spend some time with this organization from time to time.  I started volunteering with this organization in 2007 and try to stay involved when I am able.  When I called to ask the director if she could use my help during this time, she immediately called back to let me know that “yes, she could use my help!”  She was needing someone to organize the formula and baby food that had been donated.  This meant going through each one and discarding any items that had expired, etc.  When I arrived there, she apologized to me and said it was going to be more of a bigger job than she had told me over the phone.  When I walked in the room, there were boxes everywhere!  Someone had just dropped off a truck load of formula, diapers, baby cereal and baby food and each box needed to be open and sorted out!  She explained that ever since Hurricane Harvey, there have been so many donations to this organization.  God’s people have been so good!  I immediately went to work.  It was so good to see how God was supplying these young families and their new babies food, clothing, diapers and a safe environment for them to be counseled and trained on how to take care of their newborn.  One lady came in carrying twins! What a blessing to be able to help her during this time.  I also learned while I was there that there was a young lady contemplating abortion.  She was 17 weeks along!  We all prayed for this young girl to not go through with it, but her mind was made up!  So sad(:  We will continue to pray for her to make the right decision.  After spending several hours in that room with all of those boxes, the director came in there expressing her gratitude for my help.  She said “Evidently, the Lord knew we would need you to day, because there was no way that we could have done this without your help!  Thank you so much!”  So remarkable to see God work in this way!  The next couple of days, I spent it visiting my mother in the nursing home in Ft. Worth.  It was so good to see her and I know she enjoyed the visit too.

Again, I want to thank Kris and the Board of Directors for allowing us to have the opportunity to be a part of God’s work in the Helpers of People program.  It is always a good time to reflect and refocus on the bigger picture.

Blessings,

Vicki

This week was dedicated to the Helpers of People program, along with one week of vacation (flew to San Diego to spend time with my daughter, Tami).

I volunteered this week at the Pregnancy Assistance Center North (PACN), located in Conroe, Texas.  I, previously,volunteered as a counselor with this group in 2010 (first time on previous Sabbatical in 2010) and have from time to time spent some time with this organization.  It is such a blessing to help these young women and sometimes men, while they are going through a very difficult time at such a young age and where their living environment is not the greatest.  It is such a humbling experience, to say the least.

The first day that I volunteered, I was kept busy organizing the library and office supply closet.  Not alot of face time with clients, but the workers there were so grateful to have things in order.  I’m a very organized person (sometimes) and do better when I can find things, etc.  Everyone who works there or volunteers there has such a servants heart and are so appreciative of the volunteers who spend their time helping others.

The next day, it was a little more exciting and a little more engaging.  We had several appointments during that day and I had the opportunity to shadow the counselors while meeting with the young ladies.  What a day that was!

The one that broke my heart was the young lady who came in with her boyfriend (her baby daddy) seeking information to have her 8 month old daughter adopted.  She was needing assistance and guidance in how to go about doing this.  She was very shy and seemed to be very careful of what she told us.  We were very sensitive to the situation and gave her the information that she needed.  Her boyfriend was on probation and wasn’t allowed to be in the same house with her and the baby.  Not sure what was going on there.  I found out later that most of the time we like to see the girl by herself first, without the baby’s father.  That way we can ask questions to see if she is being abused, etc.  It didn’t happen this time.  I truly believe that God intervened during this appointment and allowed him to witness an organization that was  very compassionate and non-threatening. We were able to pray with both of them and will be following up with her on her decision.  She left there knowing that this was a safe place and there were people there that she could trust (in case she wants to come in by herself next time).  We will continue to pray for this young lady and pray she makes the right decision for this precious baby.  Sometimes adoption is the best option.  It is not for me to decide.  We were just there to give information, support and compassion during this time.

That day, I was able to shadow two more young girls.  One came in to just get some assistance during her pregnancy.  She was 18 weeks pregnant and very excited about the baby.  Her husband was in the military and they been married for 4 years.  She was in the process of taking classes to be a pharmacist when she became pregnant.  Money was the issue, so we were able to assist her in getting items for her new baby.  This was refreshing!  Another one came in to have a STD test.  She already had two other children.  While I was there, we had another young lady come in and had an ultrasound.  She is going to have twins!  What an exciting time for her!

The rest of the time, I was helping out in the office with clerical duties, making copies for folders and putting information in folders for the clients.  All in all, it was good opportunity to get involved again in this great organization.

I plan on continuing volunteering when I can.  They have a need for counselors during the week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and hoping that I can help out when I am available.

Thank you Kris and the Board of Directors in allowing us the time and the opportunity to stop what we are doing, to slow down and be able to be available to help other people.  What a blessing it was!

Vicki D.

I took my Helpers of People Leave last week to spend time with my mother in Ft. Worth, Texas.
After my father passed away in April of last year, we moved our mother to a nursing home close to two of my brothers who live in the Ft. Worth area.
My sister, Judy, met me there and we spent quality time with my mother, taking her out to dinner, cleaning up her room, taking her gifts (a small Christmas tree) and other items for her enjoyment. We laughed and we cried. We all miss my dad, but so thankful that we still have our mother.
My mother has dementia, so at times, it was very hard emotionally and physically, but we enjoyed it and so did she.
I’m very grateful for the Helpers of People program that FD offers to their employees. With my schedule, it is very hard to take off and spend that time with her as needed.
Thank you Kris and the Board of Directors for this special gift.

My husband, Roy and I left a week ago and headed to Nashville, Tennessee. We knew it would be a difficult trip for us. We were meeting his brother and sister-in-law there to spend time with Roy’s sister, Suzanne and husband, Larry. Larry had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and Parkinson’s Disease. Suzanne had decided to move Larry to an Assisted Living Facility in the next couple of weeks. We knew she would need lots of emotional support during this very difficult time. Because they have no children, we are her famlily. This was a very difficult time for all of us. Larry is only 67 years old.

Suzanne and I are very close. She is like another sister to me. We laughed, we cried! Suzanne wanted this trip to be as normal as possible because she knew this would be the last time we would all be together, before he was admitted. It was so hard to see Larry, who was once a CEO of a large insurance company, not be able to dress or even feed himself. He would try to communicate with us and I think at times, he knew what we were saying. But, it was so sad! Alzheimer is such a horrible disease! It was like a death.

Suzanne and Larry have a strong faith and that is what has got them through this so far. They have a wonderful church home and family and friends that have been there for them. I know that God will give her the courage and peace she is needing.

As I thought about how God would want me to spend my Helpers of People Leave, it became evident that this is where I needed to be this past week.

I am so thankful to be part of a company who truly believes in their people. To be able to take the time and be able to be there for them is such a blessing!

Thank you, Kris and the Board of Directors of FDLIC for this awesome opportunity!

Blessings,

Vicki Dickson