I Love the Laundry Room

Now that we are back in a “park” for the winter season, we're excited to meet new friends and see how God will use us here. And the laundry room is a great place to meet park residents.

This morning is laundry day and we need to get to the laundry room early because it's still hot here in the Arizona desert valley and the laundry room is not air conditioned. The billiard room next door is air conditioned. No one is in there, but it's nice and cool in there. I'm wondering about the logic here. Laundry room... people working... no AC. Billiards room.... no people in there... AC working. Hmmmm. Anyway, I digress.

Today, I'm thrilled about a divine appointment in the laundry room. Donna (not her real name) was there when we arrived washing and drying her comforters. Donna and Harry (not his real name) live in a mobile home here and have a washer and dryer in their home, but she needed to wash and dry her large comforters.

Donna and I started talking right away and when I explained what Don and I were doing here (chaplains), she pretty quickly let me know that they don't go to church. She was brought up Methodist/Unitarian and he grew up Catholic, but now they don't go and haven't been to church in years. Undaunted, I just welcomed her to come to church when we start on the 21^st of October, let her know that we were here for them and continued to chat with her. Donna was very friendly and I do believe that God allowed me to make a connection with her. He's so sweet like that.

As she told me about Harry, her husband, my heart broke. He served in the thick of battle in Vietnam and has suffered with PTSD all his life. He was also in an industrial tragedy when he was working in their home town up north. He's been on disability for years now and takes mega medications and drinks quite heavily to cope. He is unable to talk about his time in Vietnam. God only knows what he is dealing with.

Donna wants to get together with me regarding Taking Shape for Life... she wants to lose about twenty pounds. She also has a pair of FitFlops that she is going to let me wear to see if they will help my feet. She swears by them and we wear the same size. So, see, we got to know each other pretty good and I'm so excited to have met her. I even shared a fabric softener sheet with her! 

So, Prayer Partners, please pray for Donna and Harry and, Don and I, as God allows us to minister to them, love them and get to know them better.