Toys for the hospital

We had an amazing Friday. We ended our project with almost 40 new stuffed animals and we made about 100 cards!! We had thought that we would just be taking the stuff to the Kadlec Foundation office, which is in a different building. The girls were so happy about getting the stuff to the hospital that they didn't care that we weren't even going in to the hospital to drop it off. As long as the stuff would get to the people there, they were happy. Well, when we got to the office the Vice President of the Kadlec Foundation offered to walk us over to the hospital so we could deliver the stuff to the pediatric nurses. (I will add that when I had arranged a time to take the stuff down before they had said they had a function they all had to be at that evening and would be leaving early so we got down there earlier. This guy just decided to spend his time with us rather than rushing off to some function, which we were impressed with). When we got to the pediatrics unit the nurses were so touched by the girls. One of the nurses walked us from room to room so we could deliver some of them ourselves!! The girls picked a stuffed animal out for each room (they dutifully grabbed the snowman with the pink scarf when they heard it was a girl and got a smaller one when they heard it was a baby) then I took a card and a stuffed animal in each room. It was so amazing to see the kids faces and to see their families. I think hearing "Thank you" from the patients and their families really stuck with the girls and impressed just how wonderful this project of theirs is. There was an older kid in one of the rooms and the nurse stuck her head in and told him what we were there for and asked if he wanted one since he might be too old for it. He said he would never be too old to accept someone's kindness!! After we delivered the stuff we left the rest of it with the nurses, who were excited to be able to share them with other patients.

Then the guy from the Foundation offered to take us on a tour of the new parts of the hospital. He took us to the newly finished 4th floor, which was amazing. The patient rooms are so nice!! We were impressed with the small touches they added to make things more comfortable. He tried to take us up to the 5th and 6th floors to show us the progress there but he hadn't brought his key with him for the elevator (they have those floors locked off). He had wanted to show us where the new pediatric unit will be and was so apologetic that he didn't have his key! We just thought it was so cool that he was taking that much time for us!! He was so impressed with the girls! He told everyone he could about what they were doing! We saw a girl volunteering there who Jay either teaches or coaches at the high school and while we were saying "Hi" to her our "tour guide" made sure to tell her just how impressive these kids were that she was talking to!!

I don't think we will ever forget that hospital trip! (Of course there are a lot of hospital trips that we will never forget but this one will be remembered in a much different way!)

I am so grateful for children with such amazing kindness! To them, this was fun and exciting and it was all about helping those people. They weren't doing it to check it off a list, or to make themselves look good, or to gain something from it (although we have gained from this experience). They did it simply because it made them sad to think that there were people who were sick in the hospital instead of home with family and since there was something they could do about it, they would! I hope they never lose that attitude!! They have taught me so much over the years. I have noticed that with them as my examples, I think of serving much more often than I had before. I know we are given children to teach us!

I have talked about this project with some people not to brag (really truly) but because they have touched me so much and I just want to share that feeling. I wonder when things changed so that a child making a card for someone in the hospital became less common than a child making a list of what they want for themselves. Christmas always reminds me of how selfish some people can be and I am so grateful for kids who aren't! We had a talk about how it is okay to want things but it is not okay to go around telling everyone what they should give you, how it is human nature to want things for yourself and that is okay, we are allowed that, but it is the Christ-like thing to want things for others.

Anyway, that is my update on our project and my ramblings on about charity and Christ-like love.