“Impact Cares changed her life,” declared one resident, struggling with medical challenges and a dysfunctional family life. She went on to say that the improvement made to her home gave her ‘a new start in life’. You really can’t get a much better compliment than that.
It was June 5, 2021 and Impact Cares was at Country Meadow Estates in Laramie, WY and it was hot! Upon arrival, a comment was made to the effect, “We don't get involved in each other's lives. We are an independent group of people in Wyoming and we like it that way." That sounds like much of our culture today, however one must ask the next question, ‘How’s that workin’ for us?’ Fortunately, as the Impact Cares team came to Laramie, reality came to bear and together with the community at Country Meadow Estates we realized once again that as communities, we function much better ‘together’ than we do apart.
A next door neighbor to the community who is a part of a nearby church loved what Impact Cares was doing and joined in the fun. He noted that the Lord desires us to help and encourage one another so he was more than willing to help as well. He joined in on project day and then came the next two days to help us finish some needed projects before we headed out. Not only did he get to help but we had fun doing it. It is always a delight to see people come together to pitch in and help to improve their community.
Another young family had recently moved into the community but had not had the opportunity to meet their neighbors yet. At the community dinner, they started connecting with others and by the end of the week were letting their neighbors know that if they needed anything to be sure and let them know and they would be over to help. In so many ways, this is one of amazing ‘ripple’ effects that occur from the Impact Cares team coming into a community. It’s almost as though, all of a sudden, out of the blue, people realize they have neighbors who could use some help from time to time which is the very thing most folks are more than willing to do.
Think about the story of an older resident who is on dialysis. The neighborhood kids love to come and ‘hang out’ at her place. The kids will do small things for her and keep her company. She offered her yard for us to eat lunch on Saturday which was great because there was great shade and it was hot! We replaced a bench swing which was falling apart and no longer safe so now this precious woman can be out with her grandkids and neighborhood kids and enjoy life with them. She loves on them, they love back on her!
From a disabled vet who struggles with back issues to single moms who work hard to make ends meet, from older folks who may have health issues to those who may like to stay to themselves, it is not too hard to find needs that can be met. Our culture may like to think we are ‘independent’ and don’t need one another but the reverse is actually the case. We do need one another and thank you Impact Cares for reminding us of that once again!