Convoy of Hope

A week ago, Kristy sent me an email that was forwarded from her pastor at Damascus Road Community Church.  It was an informational email reminding the congregation about the Frederick County Convoy of Hope coming up on Saturday (June 2nd).  I had heard about it before, but really didn't know much about it.  Kristy sent an email to the guy in charge, asking mainly whether or not children were able to participate.  We heard the word that kids were good to go, as long as there were parents there with them to supervise.  So, we were in.  I was kind of hoping that all of the kids would/could participate since we were scheduled to have them for the weekend.  However, like so many of our plans, they didn't go the way we hoped.  Allison and Cameron had other things that they preferred to do this weekend, so they did not end up coming to our house. None the less, Jake, Kristy and I signed up to volunteer.  We, unfortunately, could not stay for the entire event because Jake had a basketball game scheduled that afternoon.

I was struggling a little with it, because while I really wanted to take Jake with us to be involved, there were many times we had scheduled some event to do before one of his games.  And I can see it when it takes a toll on his playing.  He's tired, and he gets frustrated easy, and loses focus.  I hate to be the cause of that - when I know that I can avoid it.  So I let him decide.  I asked him whether or not he wanted to be involved in the Convoy of Hope event.  He said that he definitely wanted to do it.  So, we were all in.

On Friday, we went to the Volunteer Rally.  And my goodness, was that a test!  Friday was crazy!  It poured, and poured, and poured most of the afternoon.  There was even a part of the day when there was a tornado warning.  The county schools kept the kids late because they felt it was unsafe for the buses to be transporting them.

I wasn't really sure what to expect at the rally.  I knew that Convoy of Hope was "faith based" but I didn't know how much of a focus they would put on it.  I was thoroughly impressed.  There was a band playing praise music, and then they presented the task for the following day - giving a recap from last year's event, and expectation for this year's.  They gave us the details about what teams we could volunteer for, and what their tasks would be throughout the day.  It was a HUGE project.

I could write pages and pages of what we did and what Convoy of Hope does, but you should really go to the website and check it out.  Bottom line:  it was awesome.  And I want to be even more involved next year - and get more people involved next year too.  And I loved that Jacob could be there with me...helping just like we were.  Jacob decided that we were going to volunteer for the Guest Services team.  We were setup at the entrance, welcoming people and handing out bracelets for free shoes, and tickets for free groceries.  He got to talk to people, make them feel welcome, and cared for - exactly what our job was to do!  I am so proud of him!