Volunteer Activity, Part 2

As I've mentioned here before, Waleska and I joined Rotary Club at the end of last year. It's funny: Rotary is an organization that originated in the U.S., yet I knew almost nothing about it until our contact with Waleska's students here in Brazil. I enjoy being in Rotary to make new friends and become involved in community service projects. This picture is from our winter clothing collection campaign we held a few weeks ago.

I am our club's director of the commission for service projects this term. Waleska is our club's director of the commission for the Rotary Foundation this term. This means she helps in mobilizing funds for international service projects and scholarships for student exchange programs. Go girl!

Below is Martha, our current club president, and her husband Eduardo, past club president. This is a very special couple that we have become friends with. Martha's parents recently passed away, and we have been able to share Christian comfort with her. Martha has asked me to say a prayer at the start of each meeting during her term as president. This is a great opportunity to put God first!These are all the club officers and commission directors for the current Rotary term, which runs from July-June. A very lively and interesting group of people! The club meets on Monday evenings at the Sheraton Hotel. Keep on rolling Rotary!

Volunteer Activity, Part 1

For the past several months, I have spent my Tuesday mornings as a volunteer counselor at the Interconfessional Counseling Service (SICA in Portuguese) in downtown Porto Alegre. SICA was founded 40 years ago as a collaboration among Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian churches here in town. We offer free counseling to anyone who wants a listening ear, a friendly face, and spiritual advice.

I enjoy volunteering in this ministry because of the interaction I have with clients, and also with counselors who come from other churches. I have quite a variety of clients: a mother and daughter who are recovering from abusive relationships; a husband and wife who are new in town and trying to settle down; an elderly lady who has eleven siblings and tries to keep all of them happy! I thank God for this valuable counseling experience and for the small yet significant role we can play in helping people find comfort in troubles, and solutions to their everyday problems.