Brandi Service Astroworld
Brandi was very excited. She was a popular cheerleader at her high school and she had been invited by her best friend to go to a large amusement park in Houston, Texas. This outing would be a going-away party for her friend, whose family was moving soon. She ran into the house to tell her mom who was happy for her. Then they looked at the calendar and realized that the date of the trip was the same day as a youth service project. Her mother told her that she would not be able to go to the amusement park with her friend. She was not happy about that.
The service project was to paint the house of an old widow lady named Louise. On the morning of the service project, Brandi arrived and was obviously not happy to be there. She had obviously gotten up and put on her make-up so she could look good for the boys. It was a very hot and humid summer day. At one point I looked up to see Brandi was on top of the house, hot and sweaty in the August heat with all of her make-up gone and replaced with paint spots. She was dipping her brush into a bucket to finish off the last little bit of the eaves. Just to kid her a little I asked her if she was having fun, knowing that she had been upset about not being able to go with her friend. “Yes, I am,” came her reply. “I really am! I’m so glad I’m here! At first I thought she was being sarcastic, but I soon realized that she was serious. She really was glad to be a part of the service project.
There is something amazing about serving. You almost always feel good about it when it is over. All of the youth took great pride in their work that day. Several drove past the house several times afterward to see the difference that coat of paint made on the widow’s home and to remember the good feelings that came from their act of service. The youth received the following letter from the widow: “I want to thank all of the young people and their parents for painting my house. I still go outside and walk all the way around just to look at it and be sure it isn’t something I’d dreamed about. It’s all true, and there are young people in this world who are taught to love and serve elderly people who can’t do everything for themselves. I pray the Lord will bless each and everyone. I hope they remember, too, that in doing for ‘the least of these,’ we are serving him.
