My Love Affair with Service
To me, service and stewardship are closely related. They’re siblings, in a sense. If stewardship is my call to lovingly care for God’s creation, service is my call to lovingly care for God’s people. These are part of my baptismal vows, and an answer to the keeping of the second commandment. Service is akin to stewardship but goes a step farther on that path; it includes helping and nourishing my sisters and brothers. I do strongly feel this call, and when I answer it, I feel richly fed myself. Let me give you an example.
One day last year I came across a website for an organization called The Phoenix Dream Center (https://phoenixdreamcenter.org/). PDC is a Christ-centered nonprofit agency that provides protective sanctuary, recovery, education, and comprehensive treatment for those who have been victimized by human trafficking. Children and young adults are referred there by agencies such as the FBI, Phoenix Police Department, and Homeland Security. After I visited the website, I felt drawn to it. I have become involved in off-site indirect volunteering, such as writing handwritten notes of encouragement for the residents there. Before long, our own Daughters of the King became involved and adopted it as a service ministry. As I developed my relationship with the supervisory staff there, I was eventually invited to serve at PDC’s street outreach ministry called The Fountain. This small drop-in center is open on Saturdays at an undisclosed location along “The Blade” in Phoenix. This is a district along 27th Avenue that is home to the homeless, and working grounds for drug addicts, prostitution, and crime. It is known solely by word of mouth passed on through the community of women who live and work on the street. These women are among the poorest and most marginalized in our area.
One recent Saturday we saw a young woman approaching the door and we quickly unlocked it for her to enter. She was tense, tired, and dirty; she smelled of campfire, something quite common for these guests. Her eyes darted around the room as if to assess for danger before she sat on the edge of a chair. I made coffee for her and sat beside her. At first slowly, then in a rush of words and tears, worries about her estranged family, her fears, her past abuse, and a mountain of other concerns tumbled out. I held her hand and listened. There is nothing I can do for her except to love her, and she realized that. She just needed to talk and to have a few moments feeling safe and cared for. Eventually she calmed herself, ate some breakfast, and visited the shop, which is a small room where donated clothing and toiletry supplies are neatly displayed. Each guest may choose some clean clothing and is given new underwear and personal supplies. When she was ready to leave, with her permission we prayed for her. She stepped toward me, and I offered a hug. As she relaxed into my arms, sighed, and put her head on my shoulder, I thought of what I’ve learned about God’s closeness to His children when they are suffering, and about how I as part of the body of Christ, am called to care for those such as these who suffer. There are a hundred ways that she and I are different, but in that moment, I knew and loved her as my sister—I saw that we are daughters of the same Father, both equally Loved. The love I felt for her, the gratitude I still feel--these are the reasons why I love to serve.
If you have questions or comments about this or other opportunities to serve, I welcome you to contact me.
Jackie Richard
