Second Service

This week I was called on to help out with a Hurricane Ike relief effort. The call came mid-week. I was awake Saturday morning at 3 am, about to start a long day.

The Pflugerville Ward ended up sending 14 brethren. Our stake, the Austin Stake, sent more than 100. We descended on Lake Jackson, TX, to assist with the clean-up effort. We combined with 3 other stakes, for a total of 400-500 people.

There were many trees blown over, many fences destroyed, and occasionally some damage to structures. The worst that I saw was where a huge tree sliced about 10 feet into the garage of someone's home. We couldn't help him because he said that the insurance had to come first. Our efforts there yesterday were to focus on helping get the fallen trees cut up and out to the curb for pick-up.

Our crew of seven had three chainsaws going. Luckily, we didn't have any major injuries. We were able to help out at 6 different homes, two of them being major (multiple-hour) projects. None of them were members of our church. We were only able to talk to 3 home owners (one only by phone). All were very grateful for the assistance. It was a good experience--service always is.

We believe that service to our neighbor is service to our God (Mosiah 2:17). We are all children of a Heavenly Father, and thus, we should treat each other as brothers and sisters. Stepping out of our schedules and comfort zones is required in such service. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an organization that is only alive through such service, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have to render such.