Thank goodness for service opportunities

Yesterday I had an opportunity to be of service to my fellow man.... or woman!  We heard about a women stuck in her apartment who was very sick. She was on a respirator from years of smoking. I guess the habit got the best of her.  She had been sick a long time, but now she is worse. Her son and her did not have a very good water heater and so the bishop was encouraging the landlord to come in and change it to a bigger one.  The water is very cold and no hot showers, no hot water to do dishes or wash your hands.  And with it being about 21 degrees outside this would be impossible to survive. But because she was very sick, she could not keep up her apartment and she was afraid the landlord would evict her as soon as he saw the condition of the apartment. When we walked in, there wasn't a place to even set our coats.  With gloves and our might, we began to tackle the big job ahead of us.  Where to start?
So me and three other ladies packed up garbage, recycleables, clothes, dishes and began the task. I had to boil water in a teapot to do the dishes and we used lots of bleach.  I think some of the dishes were left over from Christmas.
 But as I began the job, I didn't feel disgust.  I didn't feel pity.  I didn't feel sickness or anger.  I felt love.  Yes, even though I didn't know this woman.  I felt empathy & compassion for her.  What a horrible way to live! If I were in the same situation, I would hope someone would come in and help me out.  She has no family and just a 15 year old boy to help. We know how teenage boys help, don't we?
It took four women, two and a half hours to at least put a dent in the kitchen, bathroom & storage room. We are planning on going back today to do some more.

 I'm so thankful for service opportunities to help me be grateful for what I have.  The biggest thing I have is my health. I will do everything I can to preserve it.

I have a feeling as sick as she is, we won't even get a thank you.  But that is okay, Heaven Father will know and that is all that counts.
What is that scripture? "when you have done it unto the least of my people, you have done it unto me"