Laurie, Laurie, now in glory...

Hey, Laur,

Guess what I did last night? I served in PADS again. Remember last month I was supposed to serve and then you were gone, missing and sweet Sue Larson covered for me.

This month I got there at 11:00 PM and was greeted by several of the volunteers, offering their condolences. Anita, the girl in wheelchair, brought me a gift and card. The gift was the "Footprints" plaque, very sweet and so thoughtful of her. She ended up saying til midnight just talking. And Suzanne, another volunteer, shared some amazing stories about her life... And Ken and Lee, two awesome men of God, who have been praying consistently for us, were unbelievable just being there.

Laur, you know what was different last night? As I did each load of clothes for a different homeless person, I specifically prayed for them. Every piece I folded and put back in their flimsy plastic bag, I raised them up to God. Why hadn't I done this before? I've been volunteering at PADS for at least four years now. I guess before I just thought of it as "serving". Last night I was acutely aware of you and your heart for the homeless; the way you used to bring over outdated Starbucks sandwiches and sweet rolls. The way you would gather up a bunch of friends, make peaunt butter and jelly sandwiches and go take the train downtown to go find homeless people and hang out with them. Get to know their heart, you would say. It is easy being at Willow, throwing clothes into a washing machine, not really worried about anything. Ken, my PADS partner, is about 6'4" and could easily handle someone who might "go off". You, pretty fearlessly, went into unknown territory and made friends with folks nothing like us. You were very courageous and you never thought anything of it. I love that about you.

So as I left there at 3:00AM I praised God, again, for Him loaning you to us for twenty years. What a good gift you are... Love, Mom