Shannon – March 2017

I was recently in a meeting in another city with a couple of people from an organization funded by the government that helps other organizations get funded by the government. (Yes, that’s as strange as it sounds.) I reasoned with them.  The more the government does for us, the less we do for ourselves.  Their response was an argument I’ve heard many times. “We can’t possibly take care of all the needs without government help.” Maybe. Maybe not.

I’ve been amazed over the years to see the amount of work accomplished through volunteerism. Filling more than 700 volunteer shifts every month, our small ministry feeds, clothes, shelters, and through our Neighbor-Connect program, even meets needs in individual homes. Neighbor-Connect connects one neighbor’s need to another neighbor’s skill. This work of coordinating volunteerism is for more than replacing government programs. It’s to foster neighborly connections.  And sometimes, those have life-long consequences.

“My brakes went out in my truck and I didn’t know what I was going to do because I couldn’t afford to get them fixed.  Through Neighbor-Connect, this man Mike fixed them.  He invited me to go to church with his family. I grew up knowing the Lord but my faith has been strengthened at that church.

Before I came to Watered Gardens, I thought I didn’t have everything I needed but now I realize I have so much more than I could ever imagine.”

Shannon just needed her truck fixed. She didn’t know her life would be changed. It started with a volunteer we contacted because of your support of our mission and programs like Neighbor-Connect. Find out more about Neighbor-Connect here.