Answering the call to service.
Shannon King, Charity Director at Ole Foundation
My journey into service began several years ago. I was working another job, watching the hours tick by, and anticipating the moment when I could finally go home. I suspect many of us live the same kinds of lives in our jobs. I often thought about the saying “If you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life.” I wish I had loved that job but the truth is that I didn’t. This is where my story takes its turn. I became friends with a patron who would become my very dear friend and who would change the course of my life.
Mr. Nguyen was starting a new endeavor and asked me to be a part of the team that he was building for his next adventure. His dream was to take the gratitude for the success that he knew was inevitably to come and to give back to change the lives of others in impoverished areas. He knew that the creation of the foundation would be years away but he asked me to be the one who would head this part of our company when the day arrived. Mr. Nguyen heard the call to service and he made a promise to God that he would indeed serve. I hadn’t thought about serving the world in this manner as I was a mother of two small children who was in need of eight arms just to survive my day.
The moment he transferred the thought of service to me my spirit answered YES!! I didn’t know how I would make this work but I knew this was my future. I had been praying to be led towards the path that would allow me to fulfill God’s plan for my life. Mr. Nguyen was delivering the answer to my prayer. Time started to pass and we began to work together with the rest of the team and began to develop our business model. Being true to his promise to serve, Mr. Nguyen gave as much or as little as he could every month. He knew that if we moved in faith and gave NOW to help those in need that our needs would continue to be met. Those needs were not only met but our actions were blessed. We were able to continue to give more and to give to more people in need.
I was brought alive with the knowing that my life’s work would bring so many blessings to those who were themselves praying for God to send help. Just as Mr. Nguyen had brought the answer to my prayer, I would bring the answer to others. I began volunteering in my community through my oldest son’s Cub Scout Den. I loved it so much my role in Scouting grew. Today I’m a Den Leader in Cub Scouts and I’m an Assistant Scout Master in Boy Scouts. I take the kids on camping trips and field trips. We do community service projects that include park clean up days, food drives and singing Christmas carols at our local retirement community.
Ole Foundation brought me into my community as well as into the world. I’m never so happy and alive as I am when I’m in service to others! Serving dinner and offering warm smiles and conversation with the local homeless, delivering food donations for missions to feed the hungry, or simply discussing our plans for school improvements in the Congo fills me with the most joy! Weather I’m hiking with the boys and hear, ”Mrs. King! Look at this!!” or I’m loading giant heavy bags of food into my car to deliver to the monastery, I’m so very happy. Those are my most fulfilling moments. Those are the moments that I’m with God and I’m fulfilling my promise and my life’s mission. Answering the call to service was answering the call to my life. That was the day my life changed.
Thank you for finding us and I welcome you to be a part of what we dream to do for others. I encourage you to find your own service too. You can serve in your child’s school, Girl or Boy Scout programs, volunteer in a Sunday School class or simply visit your local animal shelter. There are so many ways that we can be of service to others. I encourage you to take your love and to put it into action. You will be amazed by how helping others will bring so much love and happiness into your own life.
