Volunteering

Kindness can be addictive and one small gesture can start a chain reaction of kindness according to readers of The Wall Street Journal who have written to the newspaper to tell their story.

Theresa Gale was locking up her church recently after a long day of volunteering when a young woman approached her, asking for water and bus fare. It was late and Gale was alone. But she gave the woman a bottle of water and $15 and offered her a ride to the bus stop.

In the car, the woman asked about the church, and Gale explained that the members believe that they have a duty to help those in need. “Well, you are God to me today,” Gale says the woman responded. “I was touched,” says Gaile said. “It was as if I, too, had received a blessing.”

Possible Preaching Angl e:

“When we act kindly, the systems in our brain associated with reward light up, the same ones active when we eat chocolate. They make us want to do that same awesome thing again.” -Jamil Zaki, associate professor of psychology at Stanford University

When people at Onecho Bible Church talk about “the mission field,” they mean the many places around the world where Christians are sharing the love of Jesus. But sometimes, they’re also talking about a literal field in Eastern Washington, where the congregation grows crops to support the people proclaiming the gospel around the world.

The 74-member church, smack-dab in the middle of a vast expanse of wheat fields, has donated $1.4 million to missions since 1965. They’ve funded wells, campgrounds, and Christian colleges. This year, they want to provide food and shelter to asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. Brian Largent, Onecho’s volunteer farm manager said, “Being as isolated as we are, it’s our missionaries and this mission field that keeps us very focused worldwide. This church is a very mission-oriented church—always has been.”

The church started with Mennonite migrants in the 1890s and Methodist farmers 20 years before that. But the unique fundraising program started in the 1960s. One of the church elders passed away at age 65 and bequeathed 180 acres to the church. He supported missionary work his whole life and considered that his legacy. He asked Onecho to use his land to continue the work of spreading the gospel.

The church decided it wouldn’t sell the field but would farm it with volunteers. The proceeds from the harvest would fund various missions. The first year, the harvest yielded $5,500. Revenue fluctuates, based on the success of the harvest. In 2021, the field earned $39,000. Last year, it was $178,000. “We just put the seed in the ground,” Largent said. “Then . . . it’s all up to the weather and what God’s going to do to produce the money.”

Sometimes just taking part is what counts. Just ask Belgian shot-put thrower Jolien Boumkwo, who competed in the 100-meter hurdles at the European Athletics Team Championships after her teammates had to withdraw through injury.

After placing seventh in the shot put on Friday, Boumkwo turned her attention to the hurdles at the last minute and duly finished in a time of 32.81 seconds – 19 seconds behind the seventh-placed athlete.

Footage of Boumkwo carefully stepping over each hurdle while the other athletes race away ahead of her has since gone viral on social media. She smiled and laughed throughout before being congratulated by other competitors at the finish line.

Just having an athlete take part in the event earned Belgium two points and saved the team from disqualification. Boumkwo’s efforts weren’t enough to save her country from being relegated to the second division at the meet in Poland, finishing 14th out of 16 countries with 250 points.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Sometimes it is the taking part that really counts. In the church this might mean stepping up to help serve even though it is not our primary spiritual gift. We are part of a team and we all serve for the benefit of the body (1 Cor. 12:1-31) and we should do it with eagerness and joy.

55-year-old New Jersey school bus driver Herman Cruse noticed that a kindergartner seemed a little sad and out of sorts during one morning ride to Middle Township Elementary. When Cruse asked the kindergartner what was wrong, the boy explained that he couldn’t complete his reading assignment because his parents were busy with his four siblings at home to help him practice reading.

Cruse said an idea popped into his mind, since normally he just napped between his morning and afternoon routes. “I told him, ‘Listen, I have some free time, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to come to the school and read with you.’”

Cruse received permission from the six-year-old’s teacher, Alex Bakley, to show up at her kindergarten classroom the following week. When he walked in, the boy shouted, “Hey, that’s my bus driver!”

Cruse said, “We went into a quiet corner and began reading together, and it took on a life of its own. Then a second student wanted to read to me, then a third. All these kids were going to the teacher asking, ‘Can I read with Mr. Herman?’”

He and Bakley decided to call his reading circle “Mr. Herman’s Kids.” Bakley said, “He’s a bright light at our school who makes every child feel loved and heard—they’re all drawn to his energy.”

LaCotia Ruiz said her five-year-old son Kingsly is more excited about books since he started reading with Cruse. She said, “Kingsly had a rough time with reading at the beginning of the school year, but he’s doing much better because of this fun one-on-one time. In the morning he wakes up excited and says, ‘I’m going to read with Mr. Herman!’”

Cruse’s enthusiasm for his new role has caught on with his colleagues. “There’s now another bus driver who wants to help me out between his routes. What started out as a way to kill time has now blossomed into a way to make a difference in the heart of a child.”

For well over three decades, Patrick Vacarella has been a fixture at a local Christmas tree lot, helping local families get into the holiday spirit. He says, “It’s kind of fun to see everybody every year, and they remember you from year to year because you’ve been there for so long.”

The lot is run by the Mountain Scouts Tree Sale Association, and serves as a fundraiser for several local Boy Scout troops. Ironically, the inciting incident that launched Vacarella into his annual tradition of service was not exactly Boy Scout behavior.

Back in 1987, Vacarella was a headstrong teenager who loved to show off his 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. So he made a habit of pulling up to stop signs and burning his tires’ rubber on the asphalt, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. As he’d done many times before, Vacarella approached the intersection on Highway 31 next to the Christmas tree lot, where there were sure to be plenty of onlookers.

However, Bo Young, who ran the lot at the time, wanted to teach Vacarella a lesson. So he’d previously called police, who were waiting just around the corner. Immediately after his big burnout, police appeared and pulled the teen over. They gave him two choices – either pay a hefty fine for a traffic ticket, or instead, volunteer at the Christmas tree lot for a few weeks. He chose the second option.

But it wasn’t long before what seemed like a punishment became a privilege. He quickly became friends with Young’s two sons Matt and Paul, and together they helped families pick out trees and tie them onto their cars. Vacarella enjoyed it so much, he agreed to do it again the following year, and then the year after.

Vacarella says, “It got to a point where it was fun. It seems like every year I was up there, I got to do something else until it evolved into me being lot manager. Sometimes, I ask myself, due to how long I’ve been in this, if I just shouldn’t have paid the ticket and went on.”

But his answer is obvious. “You see the same people every year, and they’re like, ‘Well, I knew you would be here when I came; good to see you again.’”

Possible Preaching Angle:

God often uses the repercussions of our misbehavior to invite us into newer, healthier ways of living. In God's kingdom, discipline is less punishment and more an invitation into wholeness.

In 2018, when Dale and Julie Marks bought their home in the Beaverdale community of Des Moines, they were excited because the community is known for its elaborate holiday lights on all its homes. Julie said, “It was like a dream come true to buy a house here. I’ve wanted to live here since I first came through with friends to look at the lights 10 years ago.”

The Markses not only enjoyed participating in the holiday light show, but they leveraged their position in the festivities to help the less fortunate, collecting donations for a local food drive. Last year, visiting neighbors donated more then $7,500 and 1,500 pounds of food.

But when the couple both contracted COVID-19, Dale faced a long recovery and was too weak to unload the numerous boxes from his garage and stand on a ladder to string the yards and yards of lights. Julie was fully recovered, but her time was devoted to Dale’s care.

That’s when a local contractor, Bob Coffey, reached out. He heard about the Markses from a mutual friend. Coffey said, “When I learned they could use some help, I knew I wouldn’t have a problem getting a volunteer crew together. I called Julie and told her I’d love to put up their lights.”

Soon after, Coffey brought four of his employees to the Marks household. With all their tools and expertise, they were able to decorate the whole house in about three hours while Dale watched in dazed appreciation.

Julie said, “It was incredible that they’d do this for us — I wanted to cry.”

Coffey replied, “It’s important in life to pay it forward. If everyone did something, think how that would add up.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

When we help others in their need, we are modeling the way of Jesus.

Herb Turetzky attended the New Jersey Americans’ first-ever ABA game in October 1967 expecting to be just a spectator. Turetzky, a student at LIU Brooklyn, arrived early at the Teaneck Armory. Max Zaslofsky, the Americans’ coach and GM who had attended the same high school as Turetzky, greeted him as he walked in, “Herb, can you help us out and keep score of the game tonight?”

Turetzky responded, “Max, I’d love to. I’m here, so why not?” Turetzky sat down at a wooden folding chair at half court and jotted down the lineups. That was more than 2,000 games and 53 years ago. Since then the team has moved to three different cities, played in eight arenas, and been absorbed into the NBA. And Turetzky is still setting in that wooden chair. “I’ve never left that seat since,” he says. “I’m still here and I’m still going.”

NBA official Bob Delaney calls him, “the Michael Jordan of scorekeepers.” And an article in Sports Illustrated referred to him as the "courtside constant." One simple “yes” led to a meaningful lifelong service.

When the crowd inside the gymnasium stood to its feet to begin the game between the West Portsmouth High Senators and the visiting Tigers of Waverly High, everything seemed to be ready. Except, there was one missing ingredient. The announcer had just directed everyone to stand for the national anthem, but after a few awkward seconds turned into a minute, then two minutes, it became clear that something was wrong with the sound system.

That’s when Waverly parent Trenton Brown decided he’d waited long enough. Brown told CNN, "I looked over at the announcer and the music didn't play and didn't play and I looked over and he was getting a little frustrated. My wife gave me a little nudge and said ‘Sing’ and I said, ‘All right.'" Brown began to sing, and after a bit, others in the crowd also joined in.

Johnny Futhey was in the crowd, and managed to catch the moment on video with his phone. Futhey, whose son is teammates with Brown’s, felt the moment was special, so he posted it to social media. Futhey said, "He brought about everyone in the gym to tears when he saved the day by standing up in the crowd and singing the anthem.”

Despite the video getting over a million views, Brown has taken the whole experience in stride. "There was a lot of awkward silence ... and then I started singing and that was it."

Possible Preaching Angle:

As a Christian you never know when you might be called upon to provide a needed service in a critical moment; it’s important to remain flexible and ready to move when the Spirit provides opportunity.

There is no shortage of people today who would like to be used to do something important, something meaningful. But most of us aren’t really sure where to start. Maybe a few words of wisdom from someone who has become known for heroism can help us find a starting point.

He pulled a person from a flaming vehicle in South Korea. He served on President Trump’s security detail during the historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He also played a pivotal role in the rescue of junior Thai soccer players trapped in a cave, during which he saved the life of a Thai Navy SEAL. In recognition of those acts, US Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth O’Brien was named one of a dozen outstanding airmen of the year. But the Japan-based airman’s impressive résumé didn’t end there.

On a flight back to the United States to receive the award, O’Brien noticed a 1-year-old choking. He immediately sprang into action, clearing the child’s breathing passage and performing CPR. He said, “I’m thankful that the child is okay and that I was able to help when the family needed support. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

But O’Brien seems to be at the right place at the right time a lot lately. But maybe the uncanny number of heroic opportunities has nothing to do with luck. In an interview, O’Brien had this to say:

If someone needs to go do something dangerous, I volunteer. If someone needs a leader, I volunteer. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and that’s what helped me stand out because I sought out key positions or responsibilities.

He happens to be in the right place at the right time because he put himself in situations where he could be used. He volunteered and found himself being used.