Rachel's story | Service Saves. Love Wins

We all experience opposites in life. Some are easy to get through or find a solution for, some are impossible to get through alone and have no solution. That is the beauty of it. We have to walk in trust, love, and faith.

My journey is one of opposites. At first I fought against them, and now I am trying to embrace and welcome them because I know they help me grow. I share my story and my opposing forces that work on me in the hope that it will bring some sort of peace to know we are not alone and that LOVE and SERVICE are the only way to make it through the opposition, the only way to truly live.


My opposites began in college when I started experiencing mental fog and physical ailments that the doctors could not really pinpoint. These things increased and worsened until at one point for a few years I called my sister and mom almost every day crying. Living was very painful and I didn’t know how I would survive. I would experience great joy on a few days, and such anguish and demons in the mind and body on other days that I felt the roller-coaster would roll me right into the grave.

I was also experiencing the joy of having children and the sheer agony of having miscarriages. These opposites were so profound and painful. Over the course of 12 years I had 5 children and 5 miscarriages. This means I had moments of pure heavenly bliss and moments of pure hell all intermixed and coinciding.

Looking back I know that serving others saved my life. Serving others and receiving service from others is what helped pull me through the opposition and darkness and what keeps getting me through each day. SERVICE SAVES. LOVE WINS.

As a young child I would watch my parents serve and continually open up our home to those in need. This greatly impacted me. I remember that even as a child, because of my parents kindness to others I would notice the person at a party or somewhere who was lonely and needed a friend. Around age 15 I read the book Les Miserables, the story of true love and sacrifice. This story had a profound impact on me.

Serving at a homeless shelter when my husband and I were newly married with our little daughter sparked something in us that has grown and grown.

Going there for the first time opened my eyes to a bigger community of need. My brother and I realized that where we lived, in northern Utah, there wasn’t something like that going on, providing an atmosphere of love where people could come if they didn’t have enough money to buy food, or a place where they could go to feel the love of friends or community support.

For me, family dinner time is the best, it’s where some of the best time is spent. When people gather around the table and eat and laugh and share love, it’s heaven on earth. We wanted to provide that for others who were lonely, so we put together a Christmas meal. The response was overwhelming. Over 200 volunteers came and sacrificed their Christmas Day to serve at the meal. This meal grew to be served twice a month and is called the Loaves and Fishes Community Meal.

It brings civic and religious groups together to serve. Students from Utah State University; local businesses; the Presbyterian, Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal churches; LDS wards; the Buddhist sanga; Bahá’í groups. We have served over 14,000 meals and had thousands of volunteers participate in this community service. It has been a true joy to watch people from all walks of life come together in unity and love. I can’t say enough how God’s hand is apparent when you serve others. It’s really God’s work.

One little act of service has a ripple effect and helps soften the opposition we feel in life. I might not always feel joy on the inside, but I can always give joy to someone else.

My local service has grown to include international projects now, and new opposites of abundance and extreme poverty have been introduced into my reality. Seeing these opposites first-hand has made my heart and mind explore over and over again. It has changed my life and my children’s life completely, on every level. As a co-director of Family Humanitarian experience, I get to see how poverty in the US and poverty in a developing country are equally as real. We strive to help create prosperity in both places. It’s so beautiful, taking people from here to help there and then seeing how the people there change our lives for the better. Service is one eternal round of joy and progression for all involved.

The projects with FHe are driven by the local people so they’re telling us what they want to learn about and what projects would benefit their community. Our in-country directors guide all the work. They are on the ground, they know the people. They ask the questions. When we come our expeditions involve a lot of teaching. We want to empower the locals, not come and bring handouts. We are currently taking expeditions to Guatemala, Kenya and Uganda. In these areas, we set up medical and dental clinics to train rural health care workers. We hold education workshops, professional development trainings, and health and sanitation classes. We also do a variety of building projects, including schools.

We take families of all ages on these expeditions. The children work on the building projects. The older youth get to work it the medical clinics and help a lot with triage, crowd control, and handing out medication. With the dentists they get to pull teeth. We also have a youth program so they had a lot of cultural experiences and get to see women weaving, making tortillas, and different things. Also, just the simple opportunities for the kids to interact with the village children—to laugh, play soccer, and have fun, these have a great impact on all involved.

Change is very gradual in our own lives and in service work, but it does happen. On one trip it was really exciting to see a woman who I taught on my first trip come and tell us that she had worked on what she had learned about budgeting and it had really impacted her life. She was able to save money to send her kids to school and have a more stable year by spreading her money out evenly.
My burdens have been eased and the torment in my mind has subsided as I see the changes in my children, how they are grateful for little things, how they notice people in need.

We may live in opposite worlds from those we visit on expeditions, but we all speak the language of the heart, which is love. We all want our families to have education and opportunities for growth. We all want the basics necessities of life taken care of. The miraculous thing is that as we all come together in love, there is abundance for all.

There are opportunities to serve everyday no matter who you are or where you live. I love the quote by Mother Teresa, when asked at her Nobel Prize ceremony, about how to create world peace. She said you start by going home and loving your family. I think that’s so right on. I would even take it one more step and say start by loving yourself and then those things just open up. We also try to live by another one of Mother Teresa’s quotes: “There should be less talk. What do you do then? Take a broom and sweep someone’s house. That says enough.” God will show you countless ways to serve every day if you want them. I have used my car as a service mobile. If I see someone hauling groceries, or someone elderly walking along, if I feel inspired to do so, I roll down my window and ask, “Do you need a ride?” I’ve met so many amazing people that way. That’s a perfect thing since my kids are usually in the car and they notice it. Now that they’re older, they say, “Hey, let’s stop!” It has been a wonderful thing for us.

There are always neighbors who need meals. I love to cook, so I take meals and have my kids help me deliver them. Church also provides so many service opportunities. Beyond that, there are volunteer centers in most communities, or big organizations like the Red Cross or the Mormon Helping Hands. Just call and ask about volunteer opportunities. It’s been amazing living near Salt Lake now and going down to the shelters more, making friends, getting more involved in the homeless population. Even just going down, walking around and exposing the kids to something different than our little comfortable bubble. There are always opportunities right by us. That’s the beautiful thing. If you put it out there and you start thinking about it and praying about it, God will open up the way for you to do it. Service does take you to uncomfortable and inconvenient places, but God always assures me that those places are the best way to stretch and grow and find peace. it’s in His hands and I just need to trust and listen.

Sometimes we are too content living in our own opposition… we are focused inward when the joy comes from focusing outward. If you look, you’ll find chances to serve.

People are made for love and light. God is so mindful. He loves all his children, no matter where you are, and if you tap into that love then you can’t help but start seeing others who need love. But it has to start with yourself, and then with your family, and it’s all one circle of love. Let it be messy, and let it be real, and just don’t worry. Don’t even try to be perfect or run from opposition! It’s no fun! Rely on the Atonement and on Heavenly Father’s perfect plan and then love and joy will flow so much better.

Life is messy! Full of opposites! I’ve let go of trying to run from the opposites. I lived a lot of my life trying to be perfect. Now I don’t worry and I don’t run. That’s the main thing about finding joy and peace. Don’t worry, just trust. Because each day God will show you what is needful. I strive to stay as close to God possible. That’s how I find peace through this roller-coaster journey of life.
Service has saved my life. Literally. Through hormonal issues, depression, anxiety, and the normal ups and downs of life, service has pulled me out of the darkest night and brought joy and happiness to my life in a way that nothing else could. I am beyond grateful for the giving and receiving of service.