And a Little Bit o' That (At Women's Conference)

The Hospitality Team are affectionately nicknamed "The Angels in Blue Vests" because of the attractive blue vest that we got to wear to make us more easily spotted in  a crowd. One thing that they stressed in the training meetings is that we as volunteers were to seek out "the one." We needed to not only be friendly and helpful to the Conference goers in general but we were to seek out those who might need a little extra help, a friendly face or a reassuring touch on the arm.

One story that Joy Flitton, one of the Directors for Women's Conference told was about something that happened a few years ago. One of the Hosts noticed two women walking arm in arm towards a venue. They didn't look like the normal conference goers. Instead of looking excited and chatting happily, they looked sad and they looked like they were holding each other up for support. The host got the strong impression that she should compliment one of them about her dress. She thought it was a strange impression but she followed through with it anyway. When she complimented her dress, the woman started to cry. She explained that for the past 17 years she and her two sisters attended Women's Conference every year and it was something that they looked forward to. One of the sisters died before Conference and the remaining ones decided that even though they didn't want to attend, they would go to the conference. To honor the sister that passed away, one of them wore her dress, the dress that the host noticed.

On Friday, I had to conduct the prayer meeting to start the day because Jill had to be at the Marriott Center for the Opening Session. Along with the scriptures I read about serving others I debated whether or not to retell the story that Joy had told a month ago, worried that maybe some of the volunteers had heard the story if they had gone to that training session. In the end, I told the story. After the meeting was over, the person who gave the closing prayer was really emotional. I just thought that maybe something I had said had really touched her and that she was excited to start. She pulled me aside later and told me that she was the woman in the story that wore the dress. She was taken completely by surprise about the story and she was really excited to touch someone the same way someone touched her.

I think that it is important to remember that although grand gestures of charity are wonderful, sometimes it is the "Small and simple things" (Alma:37:6-7) are equally helpful. You don't have to head a huge fundraiser to help victims of a disaster to make your mark in the world. Sometimes, just saying hello to someone at the store or calling a friend you know is having a hard time has a great impact as well. I will try and start every day with the thought, "How can I make someone else's day better today?"