O that I were an angel

Leaving Gerritson Beach Sunday Evening


Sunday morning I was asked to briefly talk about the experience my team had helping out on Saturday and tie it into the scriptures. Below is what I said, best as I can recall. Below that I summarize our Sunday experiences.

“Saturday morning we worked in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, just south of the Gotham Avenue Canal. Bernie was the first person we helped. As we worked, Bernie told us about how he and his wife had recently adopted a newborn after they’d lost two of their own children to a rare blood disorder. They’d redecorated their home extensively this past year in preparation for the adoption. All the appliances we were hauling out of the flood-ruined living area had been bought less than a year earlier, on Black Friday. We ended up gutting the main level. The basement, formerly full of Yankees memorabilia, was too dangerous for us to work in.

Bernie’s home, after the dump truck had taken most the debris away


“After we were done at Bernie’s, we went back to the other house on our list, belonging to Dawn. She wasn’t at home, but her brother was there. He had knee surgery in October, and was barely able to walk, much less take on the physical labor required due to the flooding. We scored the walls several inches above the flood line and removed the sodden dry wall and the flooring. Even though this home was very humble, they too had recently painted and put up new cabinets. All was ruined. And Dawn’s brother also showed me the letter he’d gotten from the government, telling him he would receive no assistance because he lived upstairs, so technically he hadn’t been damaged by the storm. Dawn’s brother was so grateful for our assistance.

Outside Dawn’s home in Gerritsen Beach


“I felt then, as I know others have felt, that we are here surrounded by thousands who need help, and are able to only work on a handful of homes. I thought of Alma, surrounded by thousands of his beloved dead, both Nephite and Lamanite, as he cried out, ‘O that I were an angel! And could cry repentance unto every people.’

“Alma believed in the power of the Gospel to bring peace, since the Gospel had taught him to be a peaceable man. He wished for the power to teach all those he loved to know the Lord, their God, and love Him with all their heart, might, mind, and strength. If he had this power, the terrible wars his loved ones were fighting could have been avoided. But he knew he sinned in this wish, for he was just a man.

“Like Alma, we are just men. And we can only do what is in our power to do. Unlike Alma, we are not here to preach the gospel, but to do that which is like unto it: to love our brothers as ourselves, and do for them what we wish others would do for us in such circumstances. May we have peace in what we can do.

“I leave you with my testimony of both the spiritual and temporal Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in His holy name, Amen.”

After our short worship meeting, we loaded our bags onto the buses and headed back out to Gerritsen Beach. On the way there we saw a rare site – rainbow sun dogs formed on either side of the rising sun because of ice crystals in the atmosphere.

Rainbow Sun Dogs

Through a glass darkly: Rainbow sun dogs flank the rising sun east of New York City


Back at Gerritsen Beach, we had a chance to help two other families next to Gotham Avenue Canal. The second of these homes needed the entire basement gutted. The son of the owner is a construction contractor. But if anything, this made him more grateful for the combined power of our 11-person force. He said he’d hire us any time, which I took as a great compliment.

As we left, I walked next to a young man I’ve known since he was a newborn. So often in his young life, he’s been corrected and constrained due to his struggle with Asperger’s Syndrome. He was our wrecking ball, the one who could wield the sledge hammer with unusual force and skill. As we walked, this young man threw out his arms and said, “I was born here. I love this place.” For him, I believe, the work we did this past weekend was his passage to manhood. He had a chance to work side by side with men he respects and be a valued member of a team doing necessary work.

Now it’s Monday, and we’re back at our normal places, whether school or work or home. But the memory of those three days in Queens will remain with us as a strength for decades yet to come.

Members of our team with a homeowner near Gotham Avenue Canal in Queens, NY

2 Responses to “O that I were an angel”

  1. Lisa Anderson Says:

    Hi Meg,

    Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We got the email about the trip the day before we left for Colorado for Thanksgiving — Tom was calculating whether it still might be possible to join the group if we few home early on Friday. 🙂

    We weren’t there, but we were with you in spirit and so proud of our wonderful stake members.

    Lisa

  2. Kevin Jacobson Says:

    Meg,

    Thanks for the great summary. You have helped us all to learn more about this wonderful effort.