because I have been given much ….

My heart is full today.  I am still feeling the ‘feels’ of an astounding observation that culminated in a few short hours yesterday.

“Because I have been given much I too must give” 

For many months of the year I plan for and work to pull off my assigned responsibilities in an annual city wide Food Drive.  This is a big event and my husband and I head up the efforts in the southeast part of Edmonton, a specific geographic area that comprises our stake.  A “stake” to Latter-day Saints,  is a church administrative/governmental unit composed of multiple congregations or “wards”.  Each stake has its own leadership that manages the overall affairs that influence each congregation in it.  Over the last decade our the “stake” I belong to has been conducting an annual large-scale Food Drive that has grown from the efforts of a single congregation in 2009, to include all five stakes in the greater Edmonton area as well as surrounding communities.  This Food Drive collects donations to provide our local Food Banks with essentials to feed those in need who visit them.  It has become a major player in the overall collection of sufficient food.  Every out-of-Edmonton congregation who participates, collects for their local Food Bank.

“Because of thy great bounty Lord each day I live” 

I want to tell you here that I have a tremendous amount of respect for the charity we all know locally as Food Banks, and the special people who work in them.  Perhaps I can tell you more about it in a future post, but for now that is another story for another time.

“I shall divide my gifts from Thee with every brother that I see 
Who has the need of help from me” 

In our situation we have six local congregations who participate with Dan and I in this wonderful charitable event in the greater Edmonton area, and three more congregations who also do so on different days in their own outlying areas.  The project has grown to be so big and all inclusive that governing it to mobilize the veritable ARMY of volunteers required to canvas every single home in Edmonton and its satellite communities, is a tremendous undertaking.  Currently there is a couple who act as Regional Representatives who undertake to work with each Stake, and there are five stakes each with a Stake Coordinator that have approximately ten congregations within them.  Each congregation or ward, has their own local coordinator who divides their ward (geographic area) into routes. They then motivate and gather dozens of volunteer families to take responsibility for one or more of those routes.  These route volunteers deliver notices to each home on their route during the week prior to the Food Drive, and then go back and pick up donations from those same homes.  The donations are brought to drop off points where they are loaded on to Food Drive semi trailers delivered there the day before.

“because I have been sheltered, fed by Thy good care
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share”

 This brings me up to yesterday.  I had been working within our stake for months, coordinating efforts of the wards to motivate and enthuse their members to save the date and get involved as volunteers.  Some had organized field trips to the Food Bank to provide their members with context and a personal connection for it.  Some had spoken in church and born testimony of the meaningful service we were engaged in.  All had been regularly announcing and building up enthusiasm.  All had coordinated routes and in the weeks prior to the Food Drive, assigned routes to volunteer families.  This is a project that our local stake leaders in consultation with each other, had agreed would not only be of great benefit to our community, but would also be one within which the members of our congregations could experience meaningful selfless service.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are all about meaningful, selfless service, so it was a perfect fit.

“my glowing fire, my loaf of bread, my roof’s safe shelter overhead – 
that he too may be comforted” 

I arrived at the meetinghouse around 9:30 in the morning. Ashli, Esli and the Becks were already there.  It was cold. Bitter cold for September 29 in Edmonton.  The wind had picked up and we all wished we had worn something warmer.  We brought tables out of the stake centre and set them up.  We set up pylons borrowed from the city to use to funnel traffic.  More volunteers arrived.  I gave them instructions, explained my vision for the day, and charged young Esli (who had taken the day off work to be with us) to be their ‘foreman’.  Our donuts arrived with Bishop Siakaluk who set up a table just out of the weather where people could gather and share their experiences and something sweet in warmth.  Ward reps arrived and set up stations to take reports from their route volunteers.

“Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord;
I’ll share thy love again according to thy word”

Shortly after 10:15 our first donor car arrived and we put into practise what we had discussed.  It always works so beautifully when the cars come by ones. LOL

Then a few more cars, and a few more.  Before long it had turned into a veritable Beehive of activity.  More cars, and pretty soon there was a line up of vehicles, volunteers unloading as fast as they could to get them on their way.  Other volunteers transferred from table-to-trailer.  More volunteers working on the trailer began loading up the first of the twenty four bins.  Some route volunteers anxious to lend a hand, parked and joined the the brigade that transferred food from vehicle-to-table-to-trailer-to-bin.  Many hands make light work.

“I shall give love to those in need, I’ll show that love by word and deed;
Thus shall my thanks be thanks in deed.”

When I could spare a few minutes I did a couple of live videos to share the action with those who could not be there.  I would love to have been a bird watching it from above.  It was a wonderful thing to be part of.

As it happens, Dan and I were billeting two high school students from Nova Scotia this week, delegates of this year’s Canadian Student Leadership Conference hosted by one of local high schools – HARRY AINLEY. Part of our commitment as a billeting family was to provide some meaningful activity for them on Saturday afternoon.  Since both Dan and I were obligated to stay at our posts till 2:00 we invited them to join one of us. They arrived around 12:30, just in time for the busiest part to have subsided, but they were still able to put their shoulders-to-the-wheel and help us finish up. We were happy to have them.
(Big regret that I didn’t get their picture. Argh ….) 

 In the end – we FILLED all 24 of the bins in that trailer.  First time ever!
By all reports, it seems that every other area was ‘up’ in their donations too.  This weekend, we blew it outta the water.  Full to overflowing, with lots of stuff on the floor that we couldn’t fit in.  We couldn’t have fit another box of cornflakes into that trailer!

This morning I sat in church – still feeling the feels …. .  SO many good people all gathered together for one huge charitable purpose – to gather food for other people who’s names and faces they do not even know.  After months of anticipation and preparation on the part of so many behind the scenes, it culminated in a tremendous outpouring of “love to those in need“.  Truth is – although it took hundreds of volunteers to gather the food, it took literally THOUSANDS who voluntarily gave.  Gave from their own pantries, or gave what they purchased specifically for the Food Bank.   There were some donations that were so incredibly generous we shook our heads in disbelief when we heard the stories.  Truly there are those who have tender experience with the Food Bank and who for their own personal reasons – give so generously.  At the time of this writing, Canadians are preparing to celebrate “Thanksgiving”.  That one time in the year that we really do pause and reflect on the blessings that are ours.  We count them one by one, and express gratitude to the source of all those blessings.  The significance of the blending of these two great occasions is not lost on me.

The great prophet Moroni tells us that “charity .. is the greatest of all” and I truly believe it.  He tells us that in the end, “all things must fail — but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moroni 7:46,47)  This weekend I witnessed “charity” and it warmed my heart to overflowing.  This morning, by no mere coincidence I’m sure, the opening hymn we sang was that beloved prayer of gratitude and charity by American poet Grace Crowell “Because I Have Been  Given Much“. It is probably my most favourite hymn of all.  I attempted to sing it with the congregation – to join my voice to this prayer in music, but sometimes sounds don’t come out of my mouth when my eyes are leaking, and I had to be content to listen.  I was content to do so.  Truly content.

“Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty Lord, Each day I live;
I shall divide my gifts from thee With every brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed By thy good care;
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share;
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread, my roof’s safe shelter overhead
That he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord;
I’ll share thy love again According to thy word;
I shall give love to those in need, I’ll show that love by word and deed;
Thus shall my thanks be thanks in deed.”

Thank-you Edmonton and district around, you did good this week.  You did good.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

a postscript : 
At this point there are still many multi-family complexes and apartment buildings that are not getting canvassed simply because of manpower.  If you have an interest in taking a route for next year’s event, we would love to recruit community volunteers to help us with our Food Drive 2019.  If you will comment below and reach out to me, I will put you in touch with a team leader in your geographic part of the city.  If you’re not in Edmonton, tell me where you are.  I will do my best to put you in touch with a team leader in your neck of the woods.  There are annual Food Drives in many Alberta communities.   “By small and simple things, great things come to pass”, and truly this is a Great thing!