A memorable service project — 1987
In November of 1987, our Teachers Quorum decided to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for an underprivileged family. I contacted the Relief Society President of a Laotian ward, and she gave me the names of several families who were destitute. We decided on a widow who lived with her mother and young daughter in a one-room apartment in Midvale. Our quorum distributed flyers requesting food donations and describing the family. On November 24 we went around the ward and gathered the food. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the response. We filled the bed of my pickup with donated food, including 2 turkeys, 1 large ham, and many bags and boxes of food. Our Aaronic Priesthood young men had initially shown a less-than-enthusiastic attitude toward the project, but they rose to the spirit of the project as they saw the generosity of our ward. The Relief Society President had alerted the family of our coming, and they received us graciously and gratefully. Although the language barrier prevented meaningful verbal communication, the Spirit allowed us to communicate using the language of love and caring. Our hearts ached as we viewed the meager, almost destitute circumstances in which they lived. Our offerings of food seemed so inadequate and insignificant at the time, nevertheless, we literally filled their small apartment with food. The little 4-year old girl kept saying, “Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving!” The mother insisted that we were bringing too much food. They expressed thanks over and over again and seemed so grateful. The mother had made us some fresh egg rolls which I am sure had stretched her meager resources to the limit. We accepted the egg rolls graciously. It was a sobering experience for all of us, coming from our warmth, security, and affluence in Sandy. The attitude of our boys had changed diametrically by the time we left. We realized that our meager effort was a mere drop of hope in a sea of poverty, but at least for one evening we had made a difference. “Remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple.” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:40)
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