Thursday, July 18, 2013

July 18, 2013 - Humanitarian Service Opportunity II

By the grace of God, I was invited by Sister Byam, the Relief Society President of the Lethbridge West Stake, to travel to High River with her and her family and give of my time to help because new areas of the town opened up and because I asked to go and help out.

When we got to Okotoks, we went through a brief orientation and then got properly suited up for going into 'The Hamptons' neighborhood; it was a newer area at the edge of High River that got hit hard.

We first went to a house where the owners had already done most of the clearing of his basement by himself, but we moved a few appliances outside and also lots of small pieces of drywall and underlay; I gave the lady owner a reassuring hug and she and her husband were so grateful for our help. We got dirty, but it was fun.



We then went to a house that ended up being unsafe to enter, which unexpectedly led to us being told by a neighbor that help was needed at houses near the Anglican Church near the downtown area. As we drove through downtown, I couldn't help but reminisce about where I grew up; I lived on 8th Street and 2nd Avenue while my family and I lived there and a piece of my heart will always rest with High River. 


When we arrived at the church, we ended up getting garbage out of a nearby yard that was close to the church. A few people stopped by with food, lemonade, and thank you's as we worked and it truly awed me.



I admire the unity and hard work I have seen and participated in that emerged as a result of this unexpected event and High River will, after much work and time, be able to rise above this. I truly believe that. I enjoyed going up and giving of my time and compassion to help those who strive to rise above the raging waters.






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