(Written by a former resident of Shanghai)
We hadn’t had this much bad weather in Portland since 1968. Snow and ice covered the roads. Traffic and walking were so difficult that schools were closed for almost two weeks. Streetcars and buses were canceled. All activity slowed down.
My children had planned a three-day family reunion over this Christmas holiday, but we got together only three hours. Two of my children and their families arrived on the 23rd – my son from
On those snowy days my son took my arm everywhere we went. It was as if I had a disability, and I felt uncomfortable but didn’t reject his filial piety.
The snowy weather finally improved, all of my children and their families returned to their homes, and I took up my usual life again.
The first day on the way to class, I met Jean, my neighbor, at the streetcar stop. In greeting each other, I asked what she had done during the bad weather. She said that she went to church every day to help feed the homeless. I was surprised that she’d been able to get there although I knew it was good that she did.
Over 80 years old, she is a Catholic volunteer in a Catholic Church and had been making sandwiches and distributing lunch to 130 to 150 people. On those terrible days, she thought only about the needs of others and didn’t consider her own safety.
Perhaps she was thanked by some of the homeless, but she was just happy to be of service. She continues to give and never expects a reward.
Volunteers are not concerned about one’s faith; they serve everyone with love. There are lots of volunteers working hard in obscurity in every field.
I’ve learned about those good examples and their desire to help others, and will try to distribute a little love by being a volunteer just like them.