Project Advent, Day 14: All Saints Chess Club

A really funny thing happened during my shift at Second Helpings yesterday, and I was so excited to have met Billy Gillispie that I completely forgot to write about it.  A lot of this was in the live delivery, so I probably can't do it justice here.  Nancy, who leads the Second Helpings ministry, was telling us about a visit from her granddaughters last week.  They were having the nicest time, laughing together, and trying on some of Nancy's sweaters.  She told us how sweet she thought they were.  Then she found out that the reason they were so interested in her sweaters is because they were looking for something to wear to an ugly Christmas sweater party.  "And just that fast, I went from telling them what darlings they were to telling them that they were monsters who needed to get out of my closet right that very second, thankyouverymuchandIhopeJesussavesyou!"

Today, it was back to All Saints for my last chess club visit of 2011, since the kids' last day of school before Christmas break is Tuesday.  I had sort of wanted to bring some kind of gift along with me to give to the kids, but since attendance varies from five to fifteen kids, I couldn't decide what it should be.  I also don't have too much money to put into it, since payday doesn't come until tomorrow.  Since the club meets at lunch time, I decided just to bring some cookies along, and that turned out to be just fine with the five boys who showed up today.

While Blake and Ripon played, I started a game with a second grader named Aiden.  I thought that I was being crafty, and then he closed the noose and checkmated me.  I'm going to have to use the Christmas break to strengthen my game some...

After our game, Blake wanted to play me, but we only got a few moves in before the guys had to put away the boards and go back to class.  I promised him that if he did his homework and cleaned his room quickly tonight, we'd play at home.  There's a stone chess set that used to be my dad's, and Blake really likes to play with it.  There were quite a few cookies left, so Blake and I took them over to the teacher's lounge for them to enjoy.  A double shot of service!

Gratitude Project: I had the best talk on the phone with my in-laws earlier this week, and it occurred to me again how fortunate I am to have married into their family.  So many people don't care about their in-laws, and I'm blessed enough to have in-laws who I actually wish I could see more of.

Project Advent, Day 13: Second Helpings

I intentionally avoided putting too many limits on myself at the start of this project, because I wanted to leave myself a little bit of room to help wherever I thought it would be needed.  I'd considered making one of the rules say that I had to do an hour of service for somebody different each day, to keep things from getting boring for my readers, but decided that I wanted to be careful about even limiting myself that much.  I mention all of this because I know that today is my third visit to Second Helpings so far (and I'm planning one more next Tuesday).  I have to tell you, though - I love it.  I'm probably going to try and keep going at least once a week even after Project Advent is finished.  It's fun, it's close to my work, and it's rewarding.

One of the friends I've made there is another regular volunteer named Nell.  She really made me feel good today, telling me that she was so glad I'd kept coming, and that it meant a lot to her to see me there.  I kind of want to see if Nell will adopt me as her grandson.

Today's menu was spaghetti with meat sauce, three different kinds of vegetables, chicken, bread, salad, fruit cocktail, and cake for dessert.  Most of the food prep was pretty well underway when I arrived and signed in, but there was one more task that nobody else seemed to want: chopping onions.  For whatever reason, onions have never bothered my eyes all that much, so I washed my hands, put on an apron, and got to work.

As I chopped, I wondered what I would mention about today's project when I wrote it up, to make it interesting.  Then I heard lots of voices coming from the next room, and went in to see that the Texas Tech men's basketball team had just arrived!  New head coach (and former Texas A&M coach) Billy Gillispie is having his team participate in twelve days of service projects, the Red Raider 12 Days of Christmas, and today they were helping us at Second Helpings.  Their coaches put them to work rolling up plasticware inside of napkins, and I stepped across the room to introduce myself to Coach Gillispie.

Now, if you follow college sports much (which I admittedly don't), you may remember a few years ago when Coach Gillispie left A&M.  There were some very hard feelings about how he made the announcement and the move.  I have to admit that I was pretty sore over it, too.  I'd never been much of an Aggie basketball fan until he got there and turned the program around, and when he left so abruptly, it was upsetting.  It was the kind of thing that a guy (like me) and his buddies might sit around and grumble about over beers, while saying things like, "If I ever get eye-to-eye with that guy..."

Fortunately, I lack the courage of my drunken convictions, because it turns out that Coach Gillispie is as friendly a guy as you could hope to meet.  I introduced myself, told him that I'd loved watching him turn A&M's team into a winning one, and that I looked forward to watching him at Tech, too.  Then I asked him if I could get a picture with him - this is when I figured out the problem with my phone's camera.  The problem is that I keep handing it to old people who have never used a camera phone before.  At least BCG is in focus in the picture.

After the team and volunteers had all eaten, we began getting ready to serve.  The meal always begins with announcements and recognition of anybody whose birthday is that day.  After that was taken care of, the team was introduced, and Coach Gillispie briefly addressed the room to thank them for the opportunity to come serve.  One of his players, Robert Lewandowski, gave a blessing, and then we began to make plates.  Usually, the people in attendance walk through the line and receive their food, but we did it differently today.  Our guests remained seated while the servers put food on the plates, and the team waited tables, taking plates out to the guests.

In almost every situation that I'm in, I'm the tallest guy in the room.  That's why I had to get one more picture today, flanked by people taller than me.  These two players put their guns up, and I had the last-second idea to try and flash a Gig 'Em, but I didn't get my thumb out fast enough.  You can kind of see where my hand is coming up behind the edge of the guy's apron to my left.

A generous friend gave me five tickets to take my family to see the Red Raiders play Cal State - Bakersfield on December 27th, since I'll be on vacation from work.  I'm really looking forward to it, especially now that I've worked alongside these guys.  They're a wonderful group, and I think it speaks volumes about them that they're out in the community giving their time right in the middle of final exams.  I'll be cheering them on this season, except on January 14th, when they'll be making a long, tearful trip home from College Station.

Gratitude Project: I'm afraid I have to be a little cryptic on this one for the time-being, but Courtney and I had a very positive report yesterday about something that we've been in prayer about.

Two Ways for You to Help Ronald McDonald House!

One week from today is when I will be preparing a meal for the guests of Ronald McDonald House.  If you would like to help me cover the cost of food, I'd be very grateful.  It's not too late!  Just click on the "Donate" button on the right side of your screen, and you'll be taken to a PayPal page where you can donate any amount. (THE FUNDRAISER IS NOW COMPLETE, AND THE BUTTON HAS BEEN REMOVED.  THANK YOU!)

I received an email today from somebody who works for one of RMHC's partner agencies, with this information:

Headed into the holiday season, I thought you and your readers might be interested to know about a campaign to help children and families in need. Sharecare, an online health and wellness platform co-founded by Dr. Oz, is supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities^® by donating to help continue care given to families and children battling illnesses.

I saw on your “Be a Part of Project Advent!” post that you are a strong supporter of this foundation, so I thought you might enjoy another chance to help.

Sharecare will guarantee a $5,000 donation, but they are also conducting a Facebook campaign to reach 100K fans by December 31. If they reach that goal, Sharecare will double the donation to $10,000!

We would be honored by your support in featuring this initiative on your blog. Below are the details, and we also have two banner images available that you can use to link to the Sharecare Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/SharecareNow.

 There you go!  Two ways you can help Ronald McDonald House without even having to stand up from your computer!

Project Advent, Day 12: Red Cross

It's really gratifying, as a blogger, to have moments when you find out that what you are writing is reaching people.  I have friends who I know are reading, but it's especially exciting to find out that you're being read by people outside of that circle.  Yesterday, I felt lousy.  I took the kids out to lunch at Dickey's, where kids eat free on Sundays, so that I wouldn't have to cook anything, and so they'd be out of the house and let Courtney get to sleep, since she had to work last night.  While I was there, I had two very cool encounters.

The first was with a friend who I very seldom see in real life anymore, but who was there with her family.  I'd only posted my blog entry about two hours before, but she'd already seen it, and told me that she hoped I'd feel better soon.  Thanks, Melissa!

The second was as I was getting the kids seated at our table.  From the next table over, I heard a man quietly tell his wife, "That's the guy I was telling you about, with the Advent blog."  I took a sneak peek a minute later, and it was a man I'd never seen before.  Thanks for reading, friend!

I actually had something else lined up for today, but then it fell through over the weekend.  Although there are lots of deserving organizations to volunteer for, many of them require a background check or some training, two things that I didn't have time for if I was going to line something up in time for today!  Writing another check wasn't an option, either, because I'm a little busted until payday on Thursday.  I put out a call for help on Facebook, and quickly got this response from Lauren, a friend from high school:

My husband is the chairman of the board of the Red Cross. That's right, I am bragging. He said to call Molly. She can hook you up. You can tell her Bill said to call.

That's just what I did!  I called Molly this morning, dropped Bill's name, and visited the Lubbock office of the Red Cross today during my lunchtime.

I don't know if the Red Cross has done this in the past, but they have a really neat program this year.  As a gift in a loved one's honor, you can choose from a whole range of needed services that your money will sponsor, from a care kit for a wounded veteran, to a day of hot meals from the disaster relief truck, or blankets for disaster survivors.  There is a website where you can learn more, or purchase gifts, but there's also a printed catalog that the Red Cross office had a box full of.  What they needed help with was addressing these catalogs for delivery to members of their board, and to some of their larger donors.  Molly set me up with a list, a box of mailing labels, and a pen, and set me to work.  It was a pretty long list, but I had just enough time to handwrite each label and then stick them all to catalogs before I had to go.  There were actually quite a few names on that list of people I know, so if you get information from Red Cross in the next few days, and it has a really horribly hand-lettered label on it, chances are I wrote it.

Now, I've taken a "mine is not to question why" approach to any tasks I've been given at the sites where I'm volunteering, but today's experience did give me an idea for a follow-up project.  When Project Advent is finished, I think I'll visit the Red Cross again and show them how to do a mail merge from Word!

Twelve days down, twelve to go...

Gratitude Project: From 1 John 3:1, "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the sons of God."
Have you thought of what a gift that is?  And we can approach Him in prayer whenever we wish to, and avail ourselves of his endless forgiveness.  That's what I'm thankful for today.

Project Advent, Day 11: Donation to Texas Boys Ranch

Crud, you guys...  I am sick.  My chest feels like it's been stuffed full of kerosene-soaked sawdust, and somebody is holding a match to it each time I breathe.  I really don't like missing church this time of year, when our sanctuary is so beautiful, our fantastic choir is singing Christmas songs, and the Advent candles are being lit.  But I gave the Holwerdas a rare pajama Sunday today, because I need the rest, and I don't feel like being Patient Zero in a flu outbreak at FUMC.  I think I may have brought this on myself with all of the extra time outside yesterday and Friday.

Fortunately, I planned ahead for this contingency!  Actually, I'd planned to use this as a free day to take Courtney on a date one night next weekend, but it turns out she's working all next weekend, so...  Anyway, I dropped a donation to the Texas Boys Ranch in the mailbox.  I know it doesn't go out until tomorrow, but I'm still counting it.

The Boys Ranch has been a part of Lubbock as far back as I can remember.  It turns out that it's exactly as old as I am, since it was opened in 1975.  They are a faith-based residential facility for children aged 4-18, where abused and neglected children live in groups with house parents, and are given help through counseling, therapy, and even vocational training.  It is also an actual, working 460 acre ranch, where the children get to take part in the responsibilities of running the ranch.  Last year, for the first time in their history, they made the decision to open their doors to girls, too, so that siblings can stay together at the ranch.  They have helped hundreds of Lubbock's children. 

OK, I'm going to take some Mucinex and head back to bed so that I can do something tomorrow.

Gratitude Project: I get blasted by one or two good colds per year, but I'm blessed with very good health overall.  Really, better than I deserve, given how little attention I've paid to maintaining it over the years.  When we're sick, we often pray for healing, but when was the last time you prayed to thank God on a day you were healthy?  Today, I'm going to lift a prayer of gratitude for all the healthy days I have.

Project Advent, Day 10: The Haven Animal Care Shelter

I don't especially like animals.  There, I said it.  This shouldn't be such a big thing, but there are people who treat this admission as something on par with saying that my hobby is pushing old ladies down staircases.  I mean, I don't hate animals, and I'm certainly not cruel to them, I just don't really like them.  There was one puppy who made a temporary crack in my shell, but I kind of got over that the longer he stayed with us.

Before I started Project Advent, I asked my friends for suggestions of things that I could do, and one of them suggested Lubbock's Haven Animal Care Shelter.  I was ready to brush off the suggestion, but then I realized that it was actually kind of perfect for this project.  It's not something that I would usually do on my own, and it's a place that needs help.  They are a donation-funded no-kill shelter for abused, neglected, abandoned, or ownerless animals.

The Haven has regular volunteer times on Saturdays from 9-5.  I called last week to see if we needed to let them know when we'd be there, and they told me just to show up, so that's what Blake and I did this morning.  Today was their annual photos with Santa event at PetSmart, where they send volunteers to that store to let people take photos of their pets with Santa.  Because of that, there were fewer volunteers than usual at the actual shelter.

Blake and I walked into the office and introduced ourselves to Angela, the volunteer coordinator.  After we'd signed in, she gave us some jobs.  I would be making the rounds to the animal buildings and putting out food.  This place doesn't look like much when you pull in, but here's a picture of it from above.  All of those buildings are part of the Haven, and they all have animals that need feeding.



View Larger Map

You may notice that I said the feeding was my job, but I didn't say anything about what Blake did.  His assignment was to help with socializing two new puppies, which is an official way of saying: PUPPY PLAYTIME!

 

That's right - while dad was out in the cold, slogging it with sacks of food, Blake was rolling around with a sharpei mix named Santa Paws, and his sister, Christie.  Nice work if you can get it.

The Haven is a really interesting and unique facility.  They don't just house dogs and cats, but nearly any pet that needs shelter.  I asked if they had room for our canine visitor, but they currently don't.  Oh well.  Merry Christmas, dogs.

Gratitude Project:  I've noted this before, but I'm always amazed by the reservoir of love that my children show me.  I know that so far in this project I've mentioned being thankful for their perspective and for the other people who love them, but this is about what they give back to me.  To be really honest, I am struggling a lot with Jack right now.  There's sweetness in him, but it's inside a lot of other stuff that I just can't, for the life of me, make my way through.  When he went to bed tonight, we were both really upset with each other.  But I know that when he wakes up, he's going to come running to me with open arms, ready to start a new day.  It's humbling.

Project Advent, Day 9: Salvation Army Bell Ringer

When I was in Boy Scouts, there was a song that we used to sing around the campfire, and its chorus went like this:

Salvation Arrrmy!  Salvation Arrrmy!
Put a nickel in the drum, save another drunken bum!
Salvation Arrrmy!  Salvation Arrrmy!
Put a nickel in the drum, and you'll be saved!

My mom tried to convince me that it would be much nicer if we sang it as "Put a nickel in the tin, save another soul from sin," but have you ever tried to convince a group of teenage boys to do the nice thing?  Yeah, right.

So, anyway, I have some karmic debt to repay to the Salvation Army.  My dad was actually a big supporter of the SA, doing lots of volunteer work with them for several years.  I decided that I would serve them today as that most iconic of Christmas sights - a bell ringer outside of a store.  And so it was that I showed up outside of WalMart a few minutes before noon to relieve James, the ringer who'd been there all morning.

There's not much to it - James gave me his red apron and his bell, phoned the coordinator at Salvation Army to let her know we were switching, and then took off.  I started ringing.

Sometimes, service means playing games with sweet kids.  Those hours go fast.  Sometimes, service means ringing a bell in thirty-five degree weather, in the shade of a WalMart entrance.  Those hours go sloooow.  Here are tricks to make the time pass more quickly:

• Smile and wave at kids as they enter the store with their moms.
• Enjoy that this WalMart is close to Tech, so you get to watch lots of cute college girls coming in.
• Count all of the people wearing UT gear.  Wonder how many of them actually went to UT.
• If the bell should happen to slip out of your gloved hand and drop to the ground, pick it up and say to whoever is nearby, "Aw man, now I've gotta start all over..." and then count out loud as you start ringing again.
• Remember that you know a word that means "the ringing or sounding of bells": tintinnabulation!
• Watch cute college girls walking back out again.
• Whenever somebody on a cell phone walks past you, ring your bell louder and more unceasingly.  Just go crazy with it, like Will Ferrell on a cowbell, and see how many of them have to ask whoever they're talking with to repeat themselves.

I'm here to tell you that people do still drop money in those kettles.  I couldn't keep any sort of count while I was out there, but a lot of people dropped in at least some change, and quite a few tucked folded bills in there.  James came back from his lunch, we switched back, and I wished him well before heading back to the office.

I actually thought that I was smiling when I self-shot this picture, but I was so cold that I may not really have been able to feel my face.  More than once, I thought that I should have worn a hat, but it doesn't seem right when I'm doing public service to deprive the public of the sight of my hair.  You don't hide your light under a bushel!  Plus, it's the only part of me in this picture that doesn't look like The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Gratitude Project: Tonight is my company Christmas party, and I'm really looking forward to it.  Vista Bank always puts on a really fun party.  I'm thankful to work with good, strong, honest people, and to have an employer who has always treated me fairly, and allowed me to put my family first.  Not to mention the fact that they don't get on me when I occasionally need a lunch break a teensy bit longer than an hour in order to do a service project.