My husband serves as the Commander for the AWANA program at our church and I serve as a Director for the Truth & Training girls. We have preschool through 6th grade kids in our program. Tonight is one of my favorite field trips we do each year. We spent a lot of effort making hand made valentine's cards for the residents of a local senior living facility that is within walking distance of our church.
We divide the kids up into small groups with the parents and chaperones and the kids go door to door inside the center delivering valentines. The residents are always so appreciative. We get the occasional cranky person, but most love to see the smiling faces of the kids.
It is far too evident that some of these residents rarely have any visitors. Unfortunately, many of the residents are very lonely and don't get visited by their own families. So when we come by sharing a smile, a hand drawn card and hugs, you can tell it makes their day. It's a small token, but it makes an impact in our community and for the Kingdom of God. The Bible tells us "For whatsoever you do for the least of these, ye do also for Me".
The kids love doing service projects. Over Christmas we collected over 120 boxes filled with food and gifts for local injured young marines down at Camp Pendleton. We were able to hand deliver the boxes and watch the men open them. We are going to go back down to Pendleton sometime over spring break to prepare a home cooked meal for the guys and spend some time fellowshipping with them.
Doing service for others is a wonderful thing to teach your children. It's not just a "Christian" thing. It's a great way to teach your children just how fortunate they are by helping others who need it. Have an attitude of gratitude.
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