Awesome!

I know that's an over-used word: Awesome! But I just can't think of one that better describes what happened here Saturday. We participated in an LDS Regional Service project in honor of the 75th anniversary of the welfare program. It was a HUGE humanitarian project. I wish I had statistics, but we did hundreds of school kits, hygiene kits and quilts. It was a huge undertaking, very well organized. Wow. Like I say, Awesome! As I didn't think to take my camera, I’ll try to describe it to you:

As I approached River Road to turn left to go to the stake center where the event was to be held, I saw that River Road from the right was a steady stream of cars. We have lived here 26 years, and I literally have never seen that much traffic on that road. The light finally stopped them and I had my turn. Then I realized they were ALL going to the stake center. One after another turned in. It was difficult to find a parking spot in the parking lot. Our stake and Little Valley Stake were assigned to work from 9-9:45am. When I got in there, it was packed to the brim with people busily working. The gym was filled with tables set out to put together the kits. Ken was put in charge of a table assembling hygiene kits (there were many such tables) I was at a table folding towels for those kits. There were young men whose assignment was to walk through the aisles, picking up boxes and waste we threw on the floor from opening the toothpaste or the rags or whatever. There were men hauling out boxes of completed kits on dollies. There were people everywhere quilting, assembling, folding, ripping. When the set up tables were full, they sat on the floor or went into the foyers to work. It was just amazing: Hundreds and hundreds of people working shoulder to shoulder to help others. There were older people who walked on canes or walkers (Ken had two 88 year olds at his table) to little kids (I had a little 8ish or so boy whose job it was to take our folded towels to an assemble table. He felt SO important.) We finished our shift by ten in time for the next two stakes to come in and do the same thing, then on and on for a couple more hours. What a huge, huge undertaking to have all those supplies there and ready and organized. How did we pay for it, you ask? Our stake, and I assume all the stakes, were asked to donate $8,000. Our ward was asked to donate $800. Our ward turned in over $1700. It was simply announced and people responded with great generosity. It brings tears to my eyes to think of the sweet feeling of service. Isn’t it a joy to be a member of our church? Later that day, when I was driving to the temple, I drove past that stake center and saw a huge flatbed track with a trailer loaded with palettes of boxes containing the quilts and kits, all ready to ship to Salt Lake City. Awesome! Really, it's the only word to describe it. We're so glad we could be a tiny, tiny part of that AWESOME undertaking.