KICKOFF

Kickoff  Planning  Fireside

 We chose a firside type kickoff to launch our Service 365 family group.  We met last Sunday at the Wuerches and followed with dinner.  Every member of the group had a part in the program from prayers, leading music, sharing scriptures & stories about Jesus and a few short videos.

Christina started out by leading the Hymn "Have I Done Any Good In The World Today" & the Dads gave the prayers.  The parents started out by sharing our feelings about why we felt this was important and a great opportunity for our families.  Braelin shared our group scripture Matthew 25:40 (When ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me) & Acts 10:38 (Jesus "went about doing good").  Allison shared about Jesus healing the 10 Lepers. She shared how even though only 1 came back to thank Him he had still healed the other 9 and that we are doing the service because it is the right thing to do not in order to get others gratitude. Bekah shared about the story about the loves & fishes and how even though they only had a little bit of food, they were willing to give it all and Jesus showed them a miracle by making it feed over 5 thousand people. Elizabeth shared the greatest gift that Jesus gave everyone-- the Atonement. This was His greatest demonstration of love for every person no matter who they are or what their circumstances are. Owen shared 3 videos: 2 from the Mormon Channel: "Peter's Roof" & "Pass It On" and a video from the non-profit organization www.waterforsouthsudan.org. It is where the "Lost Boys from Sudan" came from. Braelin & I had read the book "A Long Walk to Water" their story. It is very inspiring and an example of the kind of project we would like to support for one of our quarterly global service projects.

We next went over our service list and began calendaring.  I found an Excel calendar online, filled in any commitments I was aware of, printed off 6 months of copies for everyone and way we went.  We had planned on taking turns having each member pick a service project and a week.  What happened was a combination of looking how busy our weeks were, letting each member pick a service project they were interested in and then plug it into the calendar where it made the most sense.

Here is what our MAY & JUNE SERVICE PLAN looks like:

MAY WEEK 1:  Gratitude Week for people who serve us (Miryam in charge):  This week will include the following:

- Cookies & sign on our trash can for the GARBAGE GUYS

- Treat & sign for our MAIL LADY

- Gatorade, water, cookies & sign for our local FIRE FIGHTERS

- A recent addition of spudnut donuts for our local POLICE OFFICERS

MAY WEEK 2:  Donation Week to the Union Gospel Mission & Women's Shelter (Rebecca in charge)

- Donate gently used clothing & shoes for Men, Women & Children

- Gently used books, stuffed animals, toys/games (they suggested crayons & coloring books/paper) for homeless children

- Gently used small household items & linens



MAY WEEK 3: Widower Week (Mother's Day Week) (Rolf in charge):  Visit with Widowers and let them talk about their wives.

MAY WEEK 4:  RAK (Random Act of Kindness) Week (Bekah in charge):  Perform random acts of kindness throught out the week (if something is done for you we have no idea who did it :).

MAY WEEK 5:  Tri-City Union Gospel Mission (Travis in charge): Prepare & service dinner to the homeless. If you see Travis' smoker going all night & smell something yummy in the air you will know what we are doing for service that week ;)  Tour the mission midweek to learn & see what they do and to help prepare for the dinner.  Kids will also be making balloon animals for the children who come for dinner.

PLANNING MEETING: Lizzy & Owen in charge

JUNE WEEK 1:  Dollar coin Bus Stop project (Owen in charge): Put uplifting messages on dollar coins & tape them to bus stops all over our community.

JUNE WEEK 2:  Hospital Roses Week (Christina in charge):  Take potted flowers to patients in the hospital.

JUNE WEEK 3:  Humane Society Week (Lizzy in charge): Do Volunteer training at the Humane Society.  Bring things for their list of needs to donate.

JUNE WEEK 4:  Fleece Blanket Week (Braelin in charge): Tie fleece blankets during our planning meeting to be donated to the Cancer Center, Project Linus and other organizations that need them in the area.

PLANNING MEETING: Bekah & Braelin in charge

After a very productive meeting we finished with the YUMMIEST Belgian Waffles (we will have to include the recipe next time) with fresh fruit & Bacon!!!

Our first week of service has started with a bang!  We can't wait to hear Miryam share all about it!!

If you would like more detailed information about anything we are doing just comment below. :)