Cindy and her husband came all the way from Washington State
in their camper to volunteer for three weeks here at Shepherds this year. Chuck is a kind man and a very hard
worker. He served our maintenance
department every day they were here.
Cindy
is a character; a sweet woman with a spicy sense of humor and a joyful
servant’s heart big enough for all of us.
We became fast friends.
It was supposed to be considered early spring, but it was
definitely still winter. Snow was barely
starting to melt and the temperature was hovering in the mid to high
forties. We really needed a little
Hawaii brought to us. Cindy was happy to
accommodate with a warm heart and a ukulele.
Actually, she brought nine ukuleles, donated to Shepherds by the generous
people of her church in Ferndale, Washington.
This donation enabled Cindy to teach lessons to interested
Shepherds College students a couple evenings a week while she was here. The dancing tones of ten ukuleles could be
heard, for better or for worse, through the halls of Shepherds College as
students rose to the challenge of learning this Polynesian art of thrumming. Every class began with an “Aloha.” This greeting made it quickly to the
corridors where it was well-spent on passers-by and especially loudly when
Chuck or Cindy were seen on campus anywhere.
She also took her “Uke,” as she calls it, to Day Services and
strummed while they sang loud praises to the creative God who invented music,
ukuleles and every wildly joyful mouth in that room. On one such occasion, one of our residents who was
known to be non-verbal drew close enough for Cindy to hear him humming. Since Chuck and Cindy’s visit, this man has
moved on to a much warmer place. Sadly,
he passed away last week. We will miss
him. He, however, might be singing
full-throated songs of praise or strumming a “Uke” with brand new hands for all
we know. No matter what, we can be sure
his joy is complete.
Cindy probably didn’t know what impact her unique talent
would have on the joy of Shepherds Ministries.
From what she told me, the impact Shepherds had on her was equally
surprising.
You may have never thought of the ukulele as a way to make friends or connect people or to worship God. Similarly, you might see your unique gift or talent as being of very little use. If you have thought that God could never find a way to bless anyone else with your abilities, prove yourself wrong. Step up and volunteer. Who would have thought that the ukulele could bring some warmth to Wisconsin and, as it played, foreshadow the songs of heaven.
