With Gratitude

I am posting the following email in its entirety.  The email is from Jennifer White, founder and executive director of ICT S.O.S., a Wichita organization dedicated to the elimination of human trafficking.  Jennifer is a friend of mine, and I’ve done volunteer things for ICT S.O.S. before.  Now, I am mostly a cheerleader for the organization and for my friend.  What she says in this email has resonated with me, and oozes gratitude and humility out of every pore.  I’ve been thinking how I can best let others know of this email, and of the work that is done daily.  This seems to fill that bill.

And Jennifer isn’t alone in making a difference.  There are countless people just like her in Wichita and in Kansas who selflessly dedicate their time, energy, and treasure to make this broken world a better place and to be salt and light in a dead and dark place.

We tend to become cynical when we hear stories of a homeless veteran dying on the street, or a 12 year old girl who has been trafficked into sexual slavery, or a senior citizen who is living in her car because her home is uninhabitable due to deterioration.  We tend to think that nothing is being done and no one is helping.  We lash out at our government for not responding, and call churchgoers hypocrites because they seemingly don’t care.  Or we decry the influx of those from another nation who are looking to the USA for freedom, peace, and the ability to start life anew...wondering why we must help those foreigners when there is so much to be done here.

What we don’t know (in part because we haven’t looked) is that there are many people just like Jennifer.  Some do the work they do as a vocation, such as those police officers in the EMCU (Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit), or the H.O.T. (Homeless Outreach Team) of the Wichita Police Department.  Others volunteer their time in support of groups like the EMCU or the HOT or more well-known organizations such as the Salvation Army or the Kansas Food Bank.  Many are in our public schools mentoring, tutoring, teaching, counseling, and just being a friend to someone.  Some stay in their neighborhood, looking after those who are older and homebound…making sure they aren’t sick, haven’t fallen, or out of food or heat.

Some model a Christian family environment in a home setting for teen girls who have never seen a mom and dad love each other and work together to create and maintain a home.  Others collect food, coats, clothing, or furniture to donate to those without.  And still others provide transportation, donate durable medical equipment, coach a soccer team, visit the hospital or nursing home, or pick up trash in a park. Some volunteer their time to teach those from another culture skills in the English language.  The opportunities are endless.

Some, like Michelle, who is the 24-7 Street Ministry, work primarily alone.  Michelle drives up and down Broadway and associated environs in the middle of the night, looking for prostitutes and street women who would agree to go with her to a safe house and the opportunity of rehabilitation.  Others, like Jennifer, work with a cadre of volunteers and others who provide support and help in every way…from office work to transportation.

So, next time you are prone to cynically look at the state of the world and rue the way it seems to be, remember that there are many who have looked at that same world and have stepped up to do their part…to actually BE the salt and light that you have so far refused to be.

Thank you, Jennifer, for teaching us; for humbling us; for chastising us; for encouraging us; for loving us.  Hopefully, we can be a small breath of the wind beneath your wings, and beneath the wings of others who take seriously the command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

I spent the morning in the office tying up a few loose ends before the holiday weekend and this afternoon I'm working from home. Pies cooling on the counter, casseroles baking in prep for tomorrow's big feast and maybe it is the holiday or maybe I'm just sentimental but I can't help but feel grateful.

The rush of year-end, Giving Tuesday, Christmas giving etc. is right around the corner but we'll deal with that later. Today I don't want anything from you. I'm not asking you to donate or volunteer or share a social media post. I just want to say thank you. Deep down in my guts, wanna hug your neck, thank you.

Thank you to the donors, the givers, the do-ers and the sharers. Thank you for serving, sacrificing, caring and showing up. Thank you for trusting our mission, our people and me. Thank you for learning. Thank you for teaching us. Thank you for being patient and grace-filled as we all learn together.

Thank you for loving these kids, adults and the direct service providers that try desperately to make sure they have everything they need to heal and thrive. We post a need, you meet it. We share an opportunity to serve, you show up. Thank you for building a stronger community around and beside our most vulnerable neighbors. Thank you for linking arms and walking side by side- law enforcement, therapists, social workers, medical providers, minivan moms and soccer dads, businesses, churches and schools. It takes ALL of us and time and again you show the world what Wichita is made of in the goodness of its people.

I'm so grateful for each person who has touched this organization in any way. YOU are ICT S.O.S. and I'm so thankful for and blessed by you.

I hope that your holiday is filled with gratitude for the things you have and the people in your lives. I hope your day is graced with warmth and good food and loved ones. And I hope you know that you are appreciated. So very, very much.

With gratitude,
Jennifer