Heartfelt Service: An Act of Loving
Part 3
“If you can keep your consciousness directed into the idea of serving, even though you may not know what it is you are to accomplish in being of service, then your end result will be the ability to serve and master any obstacle to being of service. You can know it and work it and be on top of it. Then you bring your consciousness into line with true service by serving with love and joy.”
- John-Roger, D.S.S.
The following article is part three of five in our HeartFelt Global Network series on service.
Romo Gonzales from San Antonio, Texas
In San Antonio, Texas, Romo Gonzales has been organizing local HeartFelt service projects for the past two years. Most recently, he has organized projects in both San Antonio and Austin. Below is his update on those.
Romo: In the last few months, your servant has been commuting to and from San Antonio and Austin Texas. This has opened the opportunity for HeartFelt events to take place in both cities. This past summer, two wonderful events took place that I would like to share with you.
In Austin, HeartFelt worked with the Central Texas Food Bank in July, collecting monetary donations during a drive the food bank was having that month. Minister Hesperia Blackburn was very involved with this event. As we put the word out to the communities in Austin and San Antonio about the donation drive, Hesperia reminded me that donations made to the food bank that month would not only be matched by contributors, but also tripled! With the wonderful donations collected in the community in July, and the donations being tripled, HeartFelt donated $900 to the Central Texas Food Bank! YAY! Just in time for back to school and the fall months.
In San Antonio, HeartFelt worked with Haven for Hope to raise awareness in the homeless community on the importance of keeping hydrated during the hot summer months. HeartFelt collected both monetary and bottled water donations to take to the homeless center. As I visited the center prior to the donation date, I was very impressed with the facility. Haven for Hope is not really a homeless center - it is a transformation center in which more than 90 organizations partner with the facility. For example, the YMCA provides daycare, the San Antonio food bank provides meals, Centro Med provides medical needs, and the list goes on and on. In August, HeartFelt made a huge bottled water donation to the facility. To be honest with you, I lost count of how many cases of water I collected, but I think it was in the neighborhood of 2,000 bottles of water! Also, most major cities now have filling stations so that individuals are encouraged to keep their bottles and refill them at these stations. August is usually the hottest month in San Antonio, so this event was very timely, and I am looking forward to future events at this facility.
In the book ‘Passage Into Spirit,’ John-Roger writes "when we recognize our love of humanity, we do whatever has to be done to express that love to and with others. That is called service." This love that I am able to express with you now, is the love I have found through HeartFelt and so very happy to be a part of! I look forward to the Spirit of HeartFelt continuing to shine and bringing forth joy and upliftment.
I also asked Romo about his experience and thoughts on what service is to him, and here is what he had to say:
Skyler: What does service mean to you?
Romo: Service to me means helping others in a loving way. I think we all possess the desire, the want to help others and share love. The energy that comes forth and the joy one feels when you do something to help another in a loving way, from your heart, and I mean even the smallest gesture, is beautiful and inspirational.
Skyler: What inspires you into service?
Romo: There are hundreds of projects and organizations one can easily become involved with, especially if you live in a highly populated area. Personally, I always think about children in need, women in need and the homeless population in general. This does not mean that I am always thinking about being of service to others or a project that I may become involved with. However, as I go about my daily routine of driving to and from work, etc., something or someone will usually remind me of needs in my community. It may be just driving down the road and seeing a sign for the women's shelter, or remembering at the grocery store that not everyone will be having a Thanksgiving dinner.
Skyler: What advice would you give to someone wishing to be more involved in service, but perhaps doesn't know where to start?
Romo: If you wish to be more involved in service, I suggest you simply look around the community where you live and be open to the needs of others. Then, once you identify something that motivates you, simply ask yourself what you could do to help. It doesn't have to be anything big or some huge responsibility to take on. It could be something as simple as buying a $.50 bottle of water and giving it to a homeless person during the summer. Whatever may inspire you to be of service, once you are, you will be blessed with the beauty, the love and joy that comes with it.
Thank you, Romo for sharing your ministry and service. Your sharing enriches our collective experience and understanding of serving and giving.
If this has inspired you to share your ministry or service in future HeartFelt Global Network articles, get in touch! Email Skyler@heartfelt.org
"The highest form of consciousness is service. And the highest form of service is selfless service." – John-Roger, D.S.S.
We are one in our loving for one another.
In loving,
Skyler
Skyler Patton, HeartFelt Director
office: (323) 328-1925