Christmas 2015:
Our Second Year
When we drew names for this year’s Christmas service gifts the
Leonards got: Jacob, Annah, Stacy, Rhys, and Alistair. Once again, we decided to
draw the names assigned to our family out of a hat so each of us was very
deliberate in the service we chose to perform on behalf of our loved-ones.
Sibling Service for
Rhys and Alistair:
Trevor and Melanie had Alistair and Rhys so they decided to
work as a sibling team to perform service for these two Lewis brothers. While
attending a church Youth Conference this summer during which they spent three
days providing acts of service, Melanie and Trevor learned how to weave
sleeping mats for the homeless. These mats are made using strips of plastic from
shopping bags and cords cut from sturdy trash bags. Finished mats are not only
water-proof and light weight but are also relatively thick and easily transportable.
After Youth Conference Melanie asked if
she could take the cardboard looms used to make mats, then she and Trevor made
several more mats at home. When they finished, Melanie took the looms to church
and taught the young women who weren’t able to attend Youth Conference how to
make mats too. Once the project was complete, Melanie delivered the mats to Brother
Jansen who in turn gave the mats directly to people he met sleeping on the
stairs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Institute Building in
downtown Richmond, Virginia.
Katherine’s Service
for Stacy:
Katherine has worked with her friend, Mary Ann Huber, every
fall for the past few years helping with Pumpkin Roll Season. This year Katherine
dedicated her service to Stacy after they chose a family struggling with cancer
to be one of the beneficiaries of this annual event. Pre-planning for “Pumpkin
Roll Season” begins in August every year and involves weeks of work in
preparation for the big Baking Day and culminates when we present families with
the funds raised that year. This year’s Pumpkin Roll Season raised a grand
total of $2,717.76!! Mary Ann and
Katherine were able to deliver $1,358.88 to each family served this year!
Here is the picture and event description that was
submitted to our local newspaper.
“About 22 volunteers joined hearts
and aprons together to make 200 pumpkin rolls for a cause on Saturday, November
21. The event has grown exponentially since Mary Ann Huber first stared selling
pumpkin rolls out of her kitchen eight years ago when her sister was diagnosed
with cancer. Since then Huber continues to reach out to the community every
fall to help support local families with serious medical conditions. Each year,
the community shows support by donating ingredients, time, and money. A big
thank you goes out to the people who purchase the pumpkin rolls. The volunteers
used Bailey’s Café at Powhatan High School and worked from morning until early
evening. Lunch was provided by a generous donor from The County Seat.” Source: Powhatan Today, December 9, 2015
Father and Son Teaming Up to Serve
for Annah and Jacob:
Ron and Michael also decided to team up to perform their
dedicated acts of service. This fall the youth from our church helped an
elderly couple from our congregation clear limbs and debris out of their yard
after an old, hazardous tree had been cut down. Ron works with the youth
program and knew how much work still needed to be done after the young men and
young women finished their service night so he and Michael decided to back and
finish the job as their Christmas act of service. Ron, Michael, and Trevor
spent many hours sawing, splitting, and stacking the remaining wood and helping
to clear the leftover debris from their yard. They didn’t think to take a
picture from their day of service, but suffice it to say, the job was HUGE!!
We really enjoyed exchanging gifts of service again this
year! We find that mindful acts of service gifts really help to keep the Spirit
of Christmas alive all year long.
With love to all,
Katherine, Ron, Melanie, Trevor, and Michael
December 25, 2015
Christmas 2014: Our first Year:
Katherine got the
idea for exchanging gifts of service from her friend Ashley who exchanges gifts
of service every Christmas with her husband’s family through The Gates FamilySeason of Service. Katherine immediately
fell in love with the idea and was excited when her family said they were
willing to give the “Gifts of Service” experiment a try!
We
exchanged names with the rest of the Lewis clan last Thanksgiving so we would have an entire year to plan and prepare our service gifts. After
picking names as a family, we each picked one person to focus on for our gifts.
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew25:40
Besides,
serving others is FUN!! There is nothing quite like the wonderful feeling of
doing something for someone else and knowing that you have made a
difference!
We
knew that coming up with five acts of service during 2014 wouldn't be hard, but
this was going to be different. We really thought about each person on our
list, and we were very deliberate in the special acts of service we chose to perform
in their honor. We wrote letters to each person we had this year to share what
service we did for them and why. Here’s a quick rundown of what everyone did.
Christmas Gift of
Service #1:
Michael performed his gift of service for his
cousin, Alistair. Michael and Alistair are both Cub Scouts, and Michael’s service
was to help his older brother, Trevor, who was unable to participate in a Boy
Scout service due to a Marching Band commitment. Michael’s Cub Scout Pack and Trevor’s
Boy Scout Troop work together to participate in Scouting for Food. The Boy Scouts deliver
bags door to door in their assigned neighborhoods on a designated Saturday each
fall, and the Cub Scouts go back the following Saturday to pick up the food donations.
Michael helped Trevor by volunteering with his dad on BOTH Saturdays. Michael helped
the Boy Scouts in Trevor’s troop deliver bags, and then he went back the next
week with his own Cub Scout Pack to pick up the food donations.
Michael served his
older brother, Trevor,
in honor of his
cousin and fellow Cub Scout, Alistair.
Christmas Gift of
Service #2:
Trevor performed his gift of service for his Uncle
Derek. Trevor and his dad, Ron, are HomeTeaching companions. Trevor
and Ron visit a single lady from our church who lives alone with her adult son.
Earlier this year she had some trees in
her yard that needed to be cut down and hauled out. Trevor and Ron, with the
help of this sister’s son, cleared the trees out. Trevor and Ron went back two
more times to clean out and trim up the yard. Trevor also cleared out her long,
gravel driveway with a weed eater on each visit.
This
family also had trouble with their well this year so for several months every
time they went to visit Trevor and Ron took 16 gallons of clean water to
replenish their supply for drinking and cooking. Trevor said these acts of service made him
think about Uncle Derek because of all the service he does.
Uncle Derek and
Trevor’s dad, Ron.
Both inspire Trevor in his acts of service
Christmas Gift of
Service #3:
Melanie
performed her gift of service for her cousin, Annah. This summer Melanie’s mom, Katherine, provided
music therapy groups for the Weinstein Jewish Community Center’s VoicesTogether summer camp for children and teens with autism. Melanie’s
act of service was to help with one of the music therapy sessions. Here’s an excerpt from Melanie’s letter to
Annah:
“It was a special session because the children who we did music with all had Autism. Mom and I were there so they could enjoy singing and making music as a group. While my mom played the guitar I would move around to show the hand movements for songs or I would give the children the props and pages for the music. During the time my mom and I were there, we had some very special moments. There was one little girl who said she didn’t want to participate in music time so she decided to just color instead. During the session, my mom and I led the group to sing to her. After a while we realized that she had begun to sing back to us too.
“When I was doing this service it made me think of you and how you sometimes help Jonathan. I know that you love him and that you love to help him. Your example inspires me to help people and especially inspires me to help people who are special just like Jonathan. I love you both and I wish you a very merry Christmas!”
Annah and Melanie
Christmas Gift of
Service #4:
Katherine performed her gift of service for her
nephew, Jonathan. Katherine spent an
afternoon with Westley, a young friend of hers who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
(DMD). Westley is about the
same age as Jonathan. He is super sweet and super smart, just like Jonathan so
Katherine was excited to share some time with Westley on Jonathan’s behalf this
fall. (Check out Westley’s Warriors –
Fighting to Cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Facebook page here.)
The
DMD causes weakness in this Westley’s muscles, and sometimes he gets tired and
has pain because of how the disease affects his muscles. Westley loves music so
Katherine spent an afternoon with him listening to different kinds of music to
help him find personalized music choices that will help him relax when he isn't feeling well. She also gave him a small iTunes gift card to get him get started on his new music collection.
Katherine is a
Board Certified Music Therapist
and loves sharing
her gifts in music to help others.
Christmas Gift of
Service #5:
Ron
performed his gift of service for Katherine’s mom, Ma Lew. Ron offered service to some retired friends who
happen to also be friends of Ma Lew. Ron
has helped this couple has with yard and tree work in the past so he grabbed
Trevor and packed the truck full of equipment with the intention of helping
them around the house and/or their property.
When Ron and Trevor arrived and offered service, our friends insisted
that they were fine and in spite of repeated offers and attempts to help they
assured Ron that they didn't need any household or yard help at the time.
Instead, our friends said that they were concerned about a pending back operation
that one of them was facing and they asked if Ron would instead just visit and
pray with and for them. So that is what he did.
Ron and Trevor prayed with our friends and had a great visit!
Sometimes
the service we wish to give is not the service that is most needed, and although
it wasn't the service Ron planned to give it turned out to be just was needed
at the time. Ron followed up with our
friends a couple of times after that visit, and other than some pain that can
be managed all was well. The surgery was a success, and our friend is not in a
wheelchair!
Ron and the boys
ready to head out for another service adventure
We
have really enjoyed this year. It was a lot of fun planning, talking about, and
doing our Christmas gifts of service. We hope a new family tradition has been
born and look forward to next year’s adventures!
With
much love to all of our family,
Katherine,
Ron, Melanie, Trevor, and Michael
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