NO GREATER JOY DANCING WITH A CHOPPING BOARD JANUARY 26, 2015-Harris UMC

No Greater Joy Dancing with a Chopping Board, the white Potato, the Cabbage, the Kitchen Knife and the Pots ====================== Amado I. Yoro It was 4:15 early Monday morning of January 26, 2015 I said to my wife who still in bed: I’ll go with Father Alex Vergara to town. I’ll be home by 10:00 am.”, then left the house. ================== Father Alex and I had agreed yesterday during our regular monthly of the Oahu Filipino Community Council [OFCC] to go to one of the churches in town to try explore for a possible expansion and to connect our ongoing OFCC Special Projects as our community outreach program as prescribed by the UFCH Resolution 2010-001. ==================== Father Alex is the OFCC president who is also involved in [I am beginning to learn now who he is the longer we work together] in many community outreach being a retired pastor; I am a OFCC past president [1982] now a vice chairman of the OFCC Council of Past Presidents [COPP]. I’ve been doing this feeding the homeless, the elderly, the nonparents children many years back since my arrival in July 1971 with the Lions Club, the Waipahu Business Association, our St. Paul’s Church Honolulu, the DWCLCAAH, others. I was certified as a Layman Ministry by the Member Mission Network, Inc. [New York based] as I attended seminars and stewardship training in this type of outreach in Santa Barbara California as provided by the Episcopal Asia Ministry and Church Development with the coordination of Rev. Wayne Schwab with the recommendation of Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara and Rev. Canon Randolph VN Albano. ================================= Taking the Bus is a regular thing I do whenever I go out. Since I got this benefit of Senior Bus Pass, most of the time I take advantage of the Public Utility Transportation: The BUS. ================================== I missed the Route E Bus due to the traffic signal that prevented me to run and ride. Bus runs according to set schedules. No park and wait for any passenger until the driver sees you through the side or back mirror that you are trying to catch it. ======================================= Fortunately, the BUS 91 came in just a few minutes around 4:45am. ================================== Bus 91 is much faster than the Route E and in about 5:20am, I got off the Bus at the corner of Bethel and King streets. It took me ten minutes to reach Harris United Methodist Church corner of Vineyard and Nuuanu streets. ================================= I went around the building and no one around. =========================================== I called Fr. Alex informing him that I am already in front of the gate. ================== I went to the parking lot and I saw an elderly woman just parked her car and getting out, I said good morning and introduced myself. I told the lady that I was invited by Fr. Vergara to come and volunteer here. ===================== Inside the kitchen, I was told to take out 4 big cooking pots out from the kitchen cabinet and I was told to put it in the big 4 burners stove. =========================== I asked them just show me a sample what to do by actual demonstration, I am a fast learner, then, things follow in good hands. ========================= There comes the white chopping board ontop of the stainless tables, the bucket of potato, the cabbage, the onion and the kitchen knife. ======================= Kimi showed me how to cut and how to shred, ============================== Then, that is fast and quick. ========================= Fr. Alex on the other side did most of the cooking, putting all the necessary ingredients to make the soup good and tasty. He did some stroke in stirring, mixing, and adding water . ===================== I have that their senior volunteer as Kimi Shigemura who worked here as a volunteer for more than 30 years. ====================== Other women like Helen, Norma and other 3 ladies are so welcoming and friendly. Environment like this with the elderly is not new to me anymore. I worked with people in all ages, I told them: don’t pay attention to your age, don’t count it; what is more important is what is your activity/ies is/are and what contribution to your group or community count. ;============================= Fr. Richard is also a retired pastor. But we both agreed: no retirement is applicable to serve in His Name.[the Lord] =========================== I introduced myself as a volunteer, a member of St. Paul’s Church-Honolulu. A Bishop’s Warden [President] for about 17 years and with the church about 35 years. A volunteer, community organizer with the Mission Day Service and the UFCH/OFCC Feeding the Homeless, the Adopt a Highway/Park; Hawaii Food Bank, others. ======================= One criticized me why I am doing this and not to find a paid parttime or full time job for my own table. ============================== Giving and sharing time, talent and sometimes treasure out from the pocket is for make me feel better than receiving from a payroll money. It is true, I need money as I am financially in need, but, the difference is the ‘divine’ giving and the receiving material things. ============================ Closing prayer by Fr. Alex Its 7 am ---what a wonderful morning in one hours sharing the time to prepare meals for those ‘brothers and sisters” destitute and no shelter. That early morning starts a good day of sharing my voluntary time, one of the THREE T’s in stewardship and serving the Lord in this way. ======================== THANKS GOD, YOU LET US DO THIS FOR THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN DESTITUTE, sleeping along the street, with cardboard and old old old blankets or what not-----for sharing is LOVE, for giving is passion and compassion-----let me do it again Lord, should ALLOW ME once or many many more times and in a million times......if you believe that is how do you want me to serve......for the community and in your name.=============================== That is Volunteerism as an act of giving time, talent and treasure, provide services without any expressed or implied promise of remuneration, but giving free time, at free will, for the benefit of others, Thanks God. You let me did it again ! ============================= No greater joy to serve; and no other consolation and reward but your continued blessings to my family, friends and the community in providing us the 10-H: health, happiness, harmony, helping hands, humility, hope healing, a ‘house’ as I call it HOME. ==================================== That HOME as an abode to dwell with my family: to pray, to eat food in our table, to laugh, to sing, to converse and communicate, to read and to learn everyday that make us stronger individual and to spend our life as a temporary basis- that there is a permanent place to rest eternally. “Ta idiay balay ni Ama adu ti pagyanan iti awan patinggana a biag” #####