Lessons from the Laundromat
On Sunday, October 30, members from The River participated in Kindness San Jose - a biannual event where we serve the people of San Jose through small acts of service around the city. Here is one story from a group that went to a local laundromat.
Thank you for organizing Laundry Love and for rallying people around the neighborhood once we got there. I honestly was very apprehensive during the car ride over to the mat. I was telling myself, "I'd be much more comfortable staying at church and helping with the baskets." I was scared of talking to people and what their reactions were going to be. I think my attitude going in was "oh I'll just get through it and make sure not to the leave my comfort zone."
Once we were there, I got to see how our team was interacting with the people doing laundry and it encouraged me. It helped to break down my wall of fear of talking to people. It was great to see our River team engaging and I wanted to be a part of that. I started talking to a man named Rudisindo, or Rudy he said. When I repeated his full name, he was surprised and smiled. I also talked with another man whose name I forgot to ask for.
Each of them were inspiring in their own ways. Rudy was telling me about his current life events. He told me has cancer and is on antibiotics that make him tired all the time. He told me how he gets along with his son. He talked about how they take the Bart to visit his wife. The other man was also telling me of his current happenings. With each story or thing that happened to him, he always attributed it to God providing for him. He said he hears God and listens. I particularly liked how he shared about wanting to watch football that Sunday morning, but something in his head told him, "do your laundry." And he found it was free laundry day when he got to the mat. I asked him how does he so easily listen to God when he hears him. He told me, because he believes. He sincerely believed and believes that God has been providing for him and that he will continue to do so. I told him I was learning from him on how to listen to God because I don't often listen.
I found myself so happy and excited to have been able to be part of this experience. It was so humbling to talk to Rudy and the other man. In my conversations with them, I don't remember either of them complaining. They were thankful for what they had. They seemed to have a quiet peace and joy about them. And they probably didn't know how much I was learning and being blessed by them. To see their strength and perseverance and to see them smile melted my heart. I started to think to myself, "what was that thing I was complaining about again?" I had no right to complain when God has given me too much for me to know what to do with.
Also, to see all of the other people who were happy to just get a free load of laundry was awesome. Before, I didn't think a few dollars would make that much of a difference to people, but I was wrong. My experience was priceless.
- Marjorie Carbajal