Action For The Lonely had an incredible event last Saturday. We had 28 volunteers show up, and together we decorated 30 Little (Christmas) Trees with the residents. Each resident was able to keep their tree.

We sang Christmas carols with a karaoke machine, ate treats, and loved on both the residents and the staff at the nursing home. Santa even prayed individually with anyone who wanted prayer.

But, very little went exactly as planned…

We had been scheduled for 10:30 a.m., but we thought we were scheduled for 9:00 a.m. The residents were still in bed, but they got up and ready in record time.

Also, our song leader and guitar player became sick the night before. But Nick (my son) and Christina (his wife) came prepared with a speaker and microphone. Christina began leading Christmas Karaoke, and before I knew it, other volunteers stepped up to help. Even a couple of pre-teens took a turn singing songs. The residents and staff joined right in, and everyone had a jolly time.

My absolute highlight was eight high school students who came to serve. I’ve been in contact with a young lady named Jade who started her own volunteer group at a local high school. We had been emailing, and the night before the event she wrote to say that seven or eight students would be coming. She ended up having an emergency and could not attend, but eight of her fifteen members still showed up. Their parents dropped them off, and they were loving and patient with the residents. Watching the younger generation serve so willingly filled my heart with joy and gratitude. I have already invited them back for our January event.

I can’t wait to see what God will do next.