ServeRDU

This past week our church had a week of local outreach with ServeRDU.
You might remember my post about this from last year.
This year I was able to participate in several different projects (the perks of unemployment!) and I loved every minute of it.

On Monday our small group hosted a picnic for refugees that came to the States from Nepal, but are originally from Bhutan. Many of these refugees had been living for years in Nepal (they fled from Bhutan because of ethnic cleansing that was going on) and had to leave because Nepal felt they could no longer care for these refugees. There are a few people in our small group that are actively involved in ongoing ministry with the refugees so that is how we came to know of them. This is the organization that has been helping them out.
A group of us went to the apartment complex where many of these refugees live and were able to help cook their food with them. Well, I really just chopped vegetables and watched them cook. ;-) Then we loaded up the cars and headed to a park nearby where we enjoyed their delicious food (seriously, it was so good!), chatted with them, played games, and learned some traditional Indian dances that they enjoy.
The kids loved Jaxon. He was in doggie heaven running around with them, getting his picture taken, and enjoying all of the attention. The picnic was so much fun and I loved getting to know the refugees.

Tuesday evening the Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest wanted to do a photo shoot for some of their clients. We all know how expensive it can be to hire a professional photographer for maternity and family portraits, so I, along with four other photographers, went to a beautiful farm in Wake Forest to shoot some photos for these clients. Again, it was so much fun and I loved chatting with all the different moms and moms-to-be. So many of them expressed their appreciation for PSS of WF and are so thankful for all the different practical programs they offer. They really walk with these women and their families through their pregnancy and even offer help after the baby is born. They are doing great work there.

(our location - Horseshoe Farms in Wake Forest, NC)

Wednesday morning I helped with a baby shower being hosted for one of the clients from PSS of WF. I was really just there to take pictures...capture the moment. :-) The client and her boyfriend loved the baby shower. They were really blown away by all the great gifts. The girls in charge of putting the shower together did a great job. Again, it was great to see how PSS of WF has really committed to help this couple figure out how to care for their unborn child.

Finally on Saturday I was back at PSS of WF with a big group of people to help do a deep cleaning of the center. We scrubbed and vacuumed and mopped until it was looking shiny and new. It was a joy to be able to serve them in that way after all the ways they have served our community.

I hope everyone else from the Summit enjoyed their service projects as much as I did. Check out this brief recap video about our ServeRDU week and click here to see how you can stay involved with local outreach in the community.


ServeRDU from The Summit Church on Vimeo.