helloHOPE Volunteer Opportunity
Watching the Lord work and orchestrate connections is such a faith builder for me. At so many times along the process of Andrew and I launching helloHOPE, the Lord intersected our path with someone who needed hope or wanted to help us spread hope to others.
One of these moments happened during the “meet and greet” time at church when I met a nurse from one of our local children’s hospitals who has since become one of my favorite people! Of course, I had to tell her about what we were doing with helloHOPE. Before long, we were meeting for coffee, and she shared with me what her days are like working in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) and brainstormed ways we could bring tangible hope to families in her unit. One of her ideas? Bring a home cooked meal to their waiting room! I loved it!
Once we had a date cleared with the hospital, we rallied our church together and served dinner to the families in the PICU waiting room shortly before Christmas. It was hands down one of the highlights of 2015 for me, and I’ll tell you why. Seeing our church community come together to make this opportunity a reality was breathtaking—it was love in it’s purest form. We weren’t asking anything in return. We just wanted the families there to know that they aren’t alone, that they are cared for, and that hope is real.
It was also beautiful to see the different ways people contributed. A busy mom cooked amazing enchiladas, a local middle school teacher dropped off paper goods, a traveling businessman dropped off the non-perishable items we needed before his trip, and another young professional made homemade brownies on an afternoon off. The group that came with us didn’t know each other well beforehand, but they jumped right into serving alongside one another. One even brought tablecloths and festive stickers to make the families feel more at home. It was as though all the verses I had read about the different parts of the body of Christ working together was happening in front of me, and it was breathtaking. And the families we served? All I can say is that it was one of the most humbling interactions I’ve had, and it was truly an honor. Serving dinner at the PICU really was incredible, and as we left, I told Andrew that we had to go back!
We are so excited to announce that we will be returning to serve another meal on Thursday, February 25th. If you are local, we would love for you to get involved. You can help in one of two ways:
Donate the food items/paper goods.
Come to the PICU to serve the meal with us!
Simply email me at marybeth@sayhellotohope.org, and I will send you the details! We are excited to spread hope with you!