Doing Good in a Big Way

On Friday evening we heard for the first time about an emergency winter clothing drive that our church stake (a stake is roughly equivalent to a Catholic parish and consists of several smaller church congregations) would host on Monday to gather much needed warm clothing and blankets for victims of Hurricane Sandy in the NY/NJ area.  Although it wasn't a lot of notice, people immediately started spreading the word and by the time Sunday rolled around, it had gained so much momentum that five local stakes had joined ranks to help as well. 

Tonight, we went as a family to take a shift to help with the process of  gathering and sorting of all the goods.  We showed up about half way through the collection time and ended up being totally flabbergasted by the amazing sight that greeted us. 

They had a drive through area all set up, so that cars could come through and be unloaded without the driver ever having to leave their car.    The entire time we were there I never once saw less than five cars in the line at any time and usually there were many more than that. 

Armies of youth were standing by to unload each car bag by bag...

They would bring the bags into the gym and add it to the pile that literally stood over 7-feet high...

From the pile, volunteers would take the bags and sort them into boxes by size, gender, and type of clothing (many of them still with their tags on)...

By the time I left at 10:30 tonight, three 26-foot trucks had already been STUFFED TO THE GILLS...

and the gym was still COMPLETELY filled. 

Right now the plan is to send four trucks up to New York first thing in the morning, one of which Glen will be driving.  Over 500 missionaries and other volunteers are slated to receive and distribute the donations.  

The rest of the goods will be sorted tomorrow and taken to New Jersey later this week.

It was truly a remarkable thing to participate in
and  made me all the more proud to be a part of such
a generous community of people
and
a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(aka  "Mormon Helping Hands"!)

Morning Update:  
We voted early this morning and Glen is on his way to NY!

Hurricane Sandy through my Camera Lens

Here in the DC area, Hurricane Sandy didn't amount to much. We had a few branches down in our yard, but mostly it was just a really wet and windy 24-hours and  two days off of school for the kids.  Surprisingly, given the history of our neighborhood, we never even lost power other  than for a random flicker here or there.  The 20-minute derecho in June was far more damaging (to us and to the whole area) than the 20+ hour hurricane ended up being. 

In the height of the storm I stepped out and tried to capture a little glimpse of the wind and the rain with my camera. 

It was hard. 

Not only were the trees not swaying enough to capture any motion in a photograph, but the rain wasn't quite heavy enough (at the times when I was out) to even get the cool raindrop effect in the picture.  Here are a few of my photos of the storm:  

Our little flag "whipping" in the wind and a little tagalong in the bottom right corner. 

Every time I opened the front door to get a closer look at the storm, the kids would beg for me to let them take a jaunt through the rain.  It was a cold rain, so they never stayed outside for long, but they did make several trips out there, all with the excited notion that afterward they would be able to brag about being outside in a hurricane. 

This ended up being my favorite picture of the storm....the wet autumn leaves covering our deck.  It was rather illustrative of what the storm was for us-- a few branches down, but mostly just the leaves getting blown off the trees a week or two earlier than they otherwise would have. 

Then on Thursday, Glen and I drove to Great Falls to see what the Potomac River looked like after all that rain.  Although far from hitting  previous high water marks, it was insane to see how different the river looked compared to normal.  The water was a mass of roiling mud and debris and gave us a small glimpse of how powerful water can be.   If the river was this high and this powerful here in the DC area where the storm barely grazed us, I can't even imagine the impact of that much more water (and more severe wind) that those people a few hundred miles north of us are dealing with.

The incalculable damage they are facing is beyond my comprehension and we pray for those that were so severely affected by this horrible storm, especially as I read articles like this that predict further suffering as the weather turns colder and many shortages remain.   

Although not in a position to donate money right now, we were hoping for a way that our family could help somehow.  I was happy (and not at all surprised) to learn that the church in our area is doing an "emergency gifts of the heart" to gather coats, warm clothing, and gift cards to send to the victims who are facing a very cold week in front of them.  If you have anything to donate, the collection is on Monday from 4-9 at our church (2719 Hunter Mill Road) or you can drop items by our house.  We'll even come pick them up from you if that's more convenient.

Warm clothing for those suffering so much may seem like a small thing, but I truly believe that it is by small and simple things that great things happen. 

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“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”        ―Mother Teresa