Our Nursery Director- Marjorie!

My new favorite person might be Marjorie Carbough, who has graciously volunteered to be our Nursery Director each Tuesday during Humanitarian Service! It's a game changer! Mothers and grandmas are ALWAYS welcome to bring kids, and have been welcome for years! For the past few years, each Tuesday, there would be a few boxes of toys, and the kids would run around and play with toys while the adults serve and sew. My older independent daughter would happily run and play, occasionally checking in with me and running off again. However, my second child is a cling-to-mommy type girl, and she would typically spend the whole two hours underneath one of the quilts pulling at the yarn as I was attempting to tie a quilt. So that was effective (face palm).

Last fall, Marjorie began running a nursery for the kids in the gym! She is from the Lakota Creek Ward in Federal Way, and is Arlene Housman's daughter! She comes prepared with books, games, snacks, crafts, and the kids LOVE her. My clingy child spent the whole 2 hours the other day glued to Marjorie, adoring the story time, painting a hat, and acting out stories! The kids are totally engaged for the whole 2 hours and usually have something to take home with them at the end! She is absolutely wonderful! Her service makes it SOOO much easier for moms like me to come and serve. My daughter calls it "her preschool", even though she's only 2. Marjorie's service is a tender mercy in our lives!

We invite all to come and serve with us, and bring your kids! They'll be in the same room having the time of their lives with Marjorie!

YSA Service and The Wishing Well Foundation

Back in December, the Young Single Adult Institute gathered for a Christmas Potluck to eat and do some humanitarian service. This fabulous project was all under the direction of Elder and Sister Olsen, who are the wonderful senior missionaries living in the Auburn Ward and serving in the Institute program here. With the Olsen's thoughtful planning, about 50 YSA came together, feasted on a scrumptious dinner, tied blankets and quilts, wrote letters to the missionaries, and were rewarded with a table full of treats afterwards! The Olsen's had prepared 30 fleece blankets to be tied, as well as 2 twin size quilts. A few days later, they then donated them to The Wishing Well Foundation, which is an organizing in Tacoma supporting Foster children. The foundation was very appreciative and grateful for the service, especially for the quilts, as they rarely get blankets in that larger size from donations. The YSA were blessed, the foundation was blessed, and some wonderful children will be very blessed from those thoughtful gifts! 

Christmas is always such a wonderful time to serve others, while our hearts are full. As Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, after Scrooge had been visited by the three ghosts, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!” 
Now that Christmas is over and our hearts have been touched by opportunities of generosity and extra service, let's strive to keep that spirit with us year round. 

Another Miracle Story!

Another great example of how our Sew Much Love blankets positively affect people close to home:

A couple of weeks ago, one of our committee members, Nancy Peterson, her son, and family came home to an electrical fire in their apartment.  No one was hurt, but their kitchen was destroyed and most of their belongings had smoke damage. 

We were able to give them quilts and help get them on the road to recovery.  The family was so touched.  Her little grandchildren hugged their quilts and wouldn’t let them go!  Her son and his girlfriend were touched to tears.

It’s so nice to hear how our hard work and effort blesses the lives of people.  It’s extra special when it’s a member of our committee, who works tirelessly each week, keeping us organized throughout our service.  We were so happy to help Nancy’s family! 

Interview with Dalene Seegmiller

I interviewed Dalene Seegmiller, a member of the White River ward, about her experiences with Sew Much Love over the last several years!

Dalene has been involved with Sew Much Love since January of 2012. She was first called to be the coordinator which was just being there, getting everything going, and keeping things flowing. She helped with new projects, got more people interested, and helped get ward representatives. She said that she loved to go around and make sure everyone felt welcomed and included.

When I asked what she likes to do at Sew Much Love, she said she just loves being there and mostly working on the tied quilts, but helping wherever she's needed. Her favorite part is just being there and the fellow shipping with everyone else. It has given her a chance to get to know so many other sisters in the Stake, and it's great!

I loved this response from Dalene: "Why do I choose to be there and serve?  Because it is a way I can spend several hours a week serving those who are in need, whether it's making quilts for Children in ICU, giving to families whose children have passed away, making and giving quilts of love to the homeless, victims of home fires, making hygiene kits for the food bank, or the homeless, comfort kits for parents who have lost a child, girls day supplies, we have even sent quilts to other places after disasters!  Where else can you go just a short distance from your home and do something that would have such a wide impact on so many others?!  I Love it!  It has become part of my life!!" 

Dalene's favorite scripture about service is Mosiah 2:17, "....that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."And also, D&C 4:2 " O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, mind, and strength...."  She said she knows that is a missionary scripture, but it also fits with any service we give. So true!

Her last words of the interview were: "I love this project that we do each week.  It brings us closer to the Lord as we focus on those less fortunate than ourselves and strengthen our Sisterhood in the Stake!"

What an amazing example of service! Thanks for your responses, service, and faith, Dalene!

Interview: Dawn Merritt

It's fun to interview different people attending Sew Much Love to find out why they go and what they love about it! I talked to Dawn Merritt of the Lake Holm Ward this week. 

She has been volunteering with Sew Much Love since 2013 and is a ward representative. A ward representative coordinates the stake efforts with the wards, organizes set-up and take-down of supplies during their designated months, and is just a general amazing helper in our program. Her favorite project to help with is making donor quilts. Her favorite part of showing up every Tuesday is getting to see her friends she's made there. She loves that she can give her time to such a great cause and find new talents. 

Dawn's favorite scripture about service is Alma 3:26-27

26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their ^arewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.

  27 For every man receiveth ^awages of him whom he listeth to ^bobey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

Thanks, Dawn!

Reminder that today 10-12 we have normal service hours followed by a potluck at 12:15, and representatives from Life Center NW will be there! For those who are ward representatives and committee members, the meeting will be today, too!

Girl's Camp Teeny Tears!

I was a 1st year leader at Girl's Camp this summer, and I was thrilled when the second day of service was indoors! (YAY for cooler temperatures for a largely pregnant lady!) I was even more thrilled when I realized that the girls were doing humanitarian service projects for Teeny Tears, one of our new projects with Sew Much Love! Here are some pictures of the girls making tiny hats and diapers for this worthwhile project! 

We will be continuing this project, along with many others, Tuesday, September 12th from 10-12 at the Auburn Stake Center, along with all of the following Tuesdays.

Quilt Miracle

Making these quilts, we never know exactly to whom they will go or how they will be received. We're always pleased when we hear back from someone about how one of our quilts touched their lives. We recently heard this story about one sister in our stake's nephew, and how our quilt helped his family.

Carrie Heighton is a member of the Game Farm Ward in our stake. Her nephew, Dallon, is 4 and was run over by a van. He was helicoptered to Harborview following his tragic accident. He had surgeries, and once he was settled in the ICU, the nurses gave him a blanket. He likes the colors, and while his mom and grandma were admiring the quilt, they noticed the tag. They were very touched by our quilt.