Service: A Quick Note

A few weeks ago, some missionaries from our church organized some service with the city of Buena Vista. We met at a large city park (large doesn't quite do it justice: there are ball fields, a soccer field, RV camping and traditional camping sites, and the community pool is located there, all next to the Maury River, hence, Glen Maury Park.). The city guys that met us there had a lot for us to do, but I don't think they counted on the numbers that turned out.  Members of several wards (including dozens of students) showed up and knocked out some fence painting and cleaned most of the park of garbage in less than two hours. Leah Marie and I took the things, who had a blast helping us pick up garbage. Thing 2 didn't understand as well as Thing 1 what was going on, but he followed me around, running in the grass and trudging through heavy brush, as if on a mission of his own. In the end, Leah Marie and I felt a great sense of satisfaction, and we have made a commitment to go for a walk as a family at least once a month, with a garbage bag, and pick up trash along the streets of Buena Vista. This is our home, and we feel like we should not only help keep it clean, but hopefully we could also motivate others to do their part. The following picture provides a peek into the fun of that glorious service opportunity. I am not sure what Thing 2 is eating: