Day of Service – Pictures!

Hundred of thousands of LD Saints across the United States participated in a day of service on April 25, 2009.  You can read reports and see pictures below the fold.

Left Field is a friend of BCC and participated in his ward’s project yesterday.  He sent in this report with the accompanying pictures:

“Here are photographs from our ward’s service in southeastern Louisiana.  We collected canned goods for several months and donated them to three local charities.  On April 25, ward members volunteered at the feeding ministry of the local AME Church.  The photographs show some of the volunteers wearing their yellow Mormon Helping Hands vests and shirts while preparing and serving food, and stocking pantries.  The Primary children sang several songs at the event.”

What a good-looking bunch of people!

What a good-looking bunch of people!

Young saints do their part.

Young saints do their part.

There is enough and to spare.

There is enough and to spare.

Feeding the multitude.

Feeding the multitude.

Thanks, Left Field!

_____________________________________________ This is how it went down in the 225.
We were supposed to report for duty at 0700, but some people didn’t show up until 0800 or 0900, thus proving the truthfulness of the parable about the laborers in the vineyard who come at the third hour still being worthy of reward. There were several hundred people from our stake, and I can assure you it is impressive to watch a crowd that size get down to work. We were assigned to clean up a cemetery which dates to 1850, and which has fallen into disrepair in recent years. It was interesting to think that this is another way that latter-day saints can serve the dead. We also were given the task to scrape the old paint off a house and give it a new coat. The pictures below speak for themselves.
The only casualties sustained were sunburn, blisters, and poison ivy, along with the shenanigans we might expect when Laurels, Priests, and paint brushes share close quarters.
This was a wonderful event, one that I will remember fondly.
What the cemetery looked like when we started working.

What the cemetery looked like when we started working.

After lots of shoveling, raking, cutting...

After lots of shoveling, raking, cutting...

...mowing and hauling tons of trash and debris...

...mowing and hauling tons of trash and debris...

...the cemetery looked like this when we finished.

...the cemetery looked like this when we finished.

This is the "before" picture of the house, when we're just starting.

This is the "before" picture of the house, when we're just starting.

This is how we left it when we finished.  Good job, friends!

This is how we left it when we finished. Good job, friends!

Somebody go tell the bishop that the high priests are goofing off.  Oh wait, that is the bishop.

Somebody go tell the bishop that the high priests are goofing off. Oh wait, that is the bishop.

__________________________________________

TSteven sends in pictures from their cleanup project in Minnesota. Thank you!

“After all the snow and ice melts in our little town the city sponsers a City Clean-up day as all the hidden trash is uncovered. Our primary asked the ward to particpate, but only the Presidents’s family and the 2nd Counselor’s (my wife) did. The 11 of us were assigned the local lake and we spent 3 hours cleaning the shore line of all the trash accumulated by the ice fishermen all winter. We found a lot of floats and beer cans (even one full one, but not our brand), plus we got a traffic cone! As you can tell the weather was wet and cold, but the day before had been 90 – that is what we call “the summer” here – blink and you miss it.”

Taking out the trash in Minnesota.

Taking out the trash in Minnesota.

Residents of the lake give their approval.

Residents of the lake give their approval.

Bookmark Day of Service - Pictures!

Comments

  1. That is SO fantastic!!

  2. Thanks, Left Field. This really is fantastic.

    Intellectual discussions are one thing; this is quite another.

  3. Antonio Parr says:

    Thanks for sharing this.

    The Church is so severely disfavored by the public and press these days, that I wonder if our best long-term missionary approach is to town down the aggressive proselytizing that invokes such disdain, and, instead, going about with good works such as this.

    ~Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.~

  4. Antonio Parr says:

    “town down” = “tone down”

  5. Matthew 6:1-4

  6. Mark Brown says:

    lol phouchg.

    Nice use of scripture, btw.

  7. Matthew 5:16

  8. In Durham, NC, we did a blood drive, among other projects, and invited in other local congregations. We had a great turnout. At the blood drive alone, I believe we had well over 100 donors.

    Now that I have my blood pressure controlled, I was able to give again for the first time in years. The Red Cross staffer was extremely nervous and jittery, though, and ended up missing the vein. So, it was more painful than usual and I have a nice fat ole’ bruise to mark me “donor.”

    It was easily worth it, though. Glad that we did this.

  9. Revelation 2:21

  10. So cool! I love to hear things like this!

  11. Kevin Barney says:

    Wonderful stuff!

  12. Verrah nice. Thanks for the pictures.

  13. Great post. The picture really do communicate as thousands of words.

  14. Mark Brown says:

    Thanks, Jared!

  15. Left Field says:

    Jacob 6:12.

    Our feeding of the multitude included loaves and fishes, but we did the Lord one better and served bread pudding (being dished up here by the Young Women). I love Louisiana.

  16. Mark Brown says:

    Left Field, for lunch they made jambalaya for 500 people. I heart Louisiana too.

  17. Left Field says:

    Mark, our ward crawfish boil is this Saturday. You should come.

  18. Mark Brown says:

    What time? I’m there.

  19. Left Field says:

    3:00 pm on the grounds of our ward building. The annual crawfish boil is usually in a city park, but we somehow didn’t get reservations this year. Bring your bathing suit, there’s supposed to be a water slide. You should post photographs of Brother Brown frolicking in the water.

  20. Mark, noon til it’s gone at the ward building. Bring the missus, and dessert to share if you like.

  21. Left Field says:

    Used to be noon; got changed to 3:00 p.m. in the latest flier. We should invite the whole Bloggernacle. Crustaceans. Yum.

  22. And while you’re at it, delete my #20.

  23. I sent in a few pictures last night, but we also made the front page of the local paper (We are a very, very small town). Anyways here is the link for the article:
    http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=396465

    And the picture is to the right of the article. In the actual paper we are not mentioned in the article but the picture caption lists all our names as we carry trash.

  24. Mark Brown says:

    TStevens, thank you for participating and sending in pictures. The post has now been updated with your contributions.

    That looks freezing cold!

  25. Left Field says:

    Mark! You missed the crawfish. And there was still at least three gallons of jambalaya when we left.

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