A couple of days ago our agency celebrated Christmas by having lunch together at the local Mandarin restaurant (Yeah, I know. I am not crazy about Mandarin either, but that's another story for another time :) I had to oversee the phone installation at our new office (translation: someone had to be there to open the door for the phone guy) so I was a little late getting there. When I walked in, I saw our staff, both paid and volunteer gathered around 2 tables and having a great time. For some reason, I wanted to stand there for just a bit longer, looking at them.
There couldn't be a more diverse group. There were a few retirees who still actively volunteer their time with us. There was a lady who came to the country as a refugee with nothing but the clothes on her back whom we have recently hired to serve the needs of new immigrants. There were a couple of university students who worked with us during the Summer months. There was our staff manager who overcame incredible personal and physical hardships in her life. Every person around those 2 tables had an interest and distinct story. Yet there they were, all drawn together in one place.
They came to our agency, not with grand and lofty visions to end poverty or hunger, or anything like that. They came, because they simply want to help people. At the end of each phone call we receive, whether it is a desperate person contemplating suicide, or a new immigrant parent looking for a doctor for his son, or simply a high school student looking for a place to volunteer, the hope is that when we put down the phone to end the call, we have managed to make someone's life just a little easier.
At the lunch I made it a point to go around to thank each person for the work that they have done. They in turn gave me a Christmas card that says, "To our wonderful Boss...Merry Christmas!" When I read the card, I felt so proud to be called their "boss"...for some reason I felt a strange sense of "affection" when they called me that :)
As lunch wound down and everyone were enjoying their desserts, I silently offered up a little Christmas wish: I hope in the new year, I can work twice as hard for these wonderful folks, and that I can manage to find enough funding to keep our agency going.
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2 comments:
you're the boss, always.
Merry Christmas to you Alfred and your family.
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”- Luke 2:6-7
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