From Terrified to Twinkies

“I can’t do this.  I don’t want to go.”

These were the pleas of my 9-year-old.  No, we weren’t headed to the doctor.   No, she wasn’t getting on an airplane (that’s what I would say at the airport).  We were headed to the Heartland Hope Mission food pantry to do an afternoon of Mom-imposed mission work.  She puts up less of a fight with her weekly chore of bathroom cleaning—toilet scrubbing included. 

I’m a bit baffled by these comments as this child loves to help others.  In fact, one of her extra-curricular activities last year was participating in a group called Mission Possible Kids aimed at showing kids that you’re never too young to do mission work.  She LOVED doing this and was disappointed that it only met once a month.  So when the opportunity arose for us to help at the food pantry I thought it was a no-brainer.  I wanted my kids to be productive this summer and this was a perfect activity. 

Elisabeth was more than willing to go along and help (although she was exhausted from a morning of herding 18 energetic kids at Vacation Bible School).  She has helped at this pantry before and it’s always been one of her favorite youth group activities.  Most places, however, don’t want any volunteers that are under high-school age.  Knowing that Heartland Hope Mission was okay with middle-schoolers, I thought we’d be fine.  Elisabeth knew what she was doing from previous experience and I would just keep Rachel with me as my little helper.  What could go wrong?

Apparently she listened too closely when her sister spoke of helping at the mission.  Elisabeth talked about how some of the ‘clients’ would ask for additional food and you have to tell them “no.”  Rachel remembered these conversations and was terrified of having to tell someone that they couldn’t have additional food.  We had a quick discussion about how this pantry isn’t for people who are starving, it’s simply a way to help people who are struggling make it through the month.  Elisabeth tried to assure her that being able to help these people in any way makes you feel good.  I suggested that perhaps Rachel could sit and play with any children who came into the pantry while Elisabeth and I worked.  She wasn’t convinced it was a good idea, but went along willingly.

Upon arriving at the Pantry, she began to relax.  The mood among the volunteers was upbeat.  And why wouldn’t it be?  We weren’t there to focus on the struggles that people were having.  We were there to make their day a little better and brighter.  As Pete was giving us volunteers our instructions for the afternoon he explained what we would be doing and then added that he would need two volunteers to work separately and be in charge of two ‘specialty’ stations.  Before I realized what had happened, Rachel was the first eager volunteer to accept Pete’s request for someone to take on additional responsibility.   And in a flash, there went my plan of keeping Rachel with me and out of the way. 

Pete seized her offer to help and put her in charge of the “Desserts & Special items” station.  As a father of ten, Pete obviously has more experience at this parenting thing than I do.  Based on this, I would have thought he would have realized the error of his ways, even though he didn’t personally know Rachel.  He saw the look of panic on my face and asked “Do you not want her to help?”  I replied that I had intended to keep her with me for the afternoon and asked if he was really okay with his decision.  Without hesitation he said “She’ll be fine.”  Turns out, that was the understatement of the day.

Not only was Rachel fine, she EXCELLED in her role.    She got to spend the afternoon selecting Twinkies, Butterfingers, taco kits, etc. for the clients and was having a blast.  The few times I checked on her she explained her job to me with such enthusiasm she could hardly contain herself (Pete wasn’t checking on her—he knew she was fine).  She didn’t have to worry about telling anyone they couldn’t have more.  In fact, she put a smile on every clients’ face.  By the end of the afternoon everyone knew her by name, and she was so good at her job that she was invited back to help anytime she wants.  (We’re headed back to help again tomorrow.)

I took her to the Mission that afternoon to help her learn how to serve others.  Instead, I learned that my youngest is capable of way more than either she or I realized.  (One of many lessons I could probably learn from Pete-the-father-of-ten).  She already knew how to serve others, she just needed the opportunity.

 

But it’s more fun when you’re the one handing out the Twinkies.