30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and awounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain aSamaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had bcompassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took acare of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the ahost, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Dad taught me by example that the work of the Savior is service. He is a man of action, recognizes opportunities to serve, and treats everyone as his neighbor. Here are a few memories I have of serving with dad. Each of these could probably be a post of their own, but it seemed right to group them all here.
1. Helping the widows
When dad was bishop in the Rosecrest II Ward, there were many widows in need of help. Neil took the three oldest boys with him to several houses to shovel. I remember one Sunday in particular where it had snowed heavily enough that they cancelled church. Dad was concerned about several houses in the ward, afraid that a roof would cave in. Dad helped us onto the roof, where we spent the majority of the afternoon clearing off the heavy wet snow. When summer came around he would ask me to mow the lawn of various members of the ward. When I asked who was going to pay me, he taught me about service and the blessings that come with it.
2. Working at welfare square
Dad brought me with him on several assignments to welfare square. We got filthy canning tomatoes. I can't remember all the assignments I helped with, but I know when they pass that volunteer list around I'm one of the only people under 50 willing to sign up. Thanks for teaching me to fill welfare assignments.
3. Stop to help strangers in need
Whether it's giving McPhees bucks to a homeless person or stopping to help a hitchhiker or motorist with a flat tire, Dad is a spontaneous helper. I remember on a road trip (was it to Canada?) we were driving though a rain storm in the minivan. We were towing a trailer filled with all of our bags. Dad noticed that someone had drifted off the freeway into a ditch on the side of the road. Dad pulled over and asked the boys to hop out to help. It was pouring rain and we were all quickly soaked. Undeterred, we made our way down the embankment to help the stranded driver. To our surprise, he was deaf and could barely explain his car problems. Dad signaled for him to drive ahead and we would push his car. He gave it some gas, but he was spinning out in the rain and mud. Dad motioned to the driver to floor it, and I was sprayed from head to toe with mud. I looked like the swamp thing. Funny that I can't even remember which trip that was, but I can vividly remember this opportunity to serve.
4. Inviting home teachees and lonely singles to dinner
I'm not sure who to credit with this, mom or dad, but I know Dad often invites the families he home teaches to dinner. When we were all living at home, it seemed that every week was a new adventure, wondering which random person would show up for dinner. More often than not, those he invited were not those who were his close friends. They were often those who did not have family nearby or who needed a good home cooked meal or fellowship.
5. Sheltering the homeless
So many people lived in our house growing up. When the Tukuafus came to live in our home it seemed exciting. When Jason Healy came to live there I started to question the wisdom in dad's choice of house guests. Though it seemed a huge inconvenience to me at the time, I quickly learned it wasn't about me. I know dad's generosity was not only a huge boon for those who stayed with us rent free, but it was also a way for our family to grow closer together and learn to serve.
Thank you for teaching us kindness, empathy, consideration and hard work. You are a perfect example of Christlike love and service.
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