Tomorrow I will Rest, But Today, There is Work To Be Done

I try to tell people, that Layers of Hope isn't about me, because plain and simple, it isn't.  It is about those 911 professionals and first responders who during a disaster or tragedy, need comforting as well as the victims and survivors.

It is about the quilting community that reaches out and says, we are 100% behind you and the community that is hurting and then turns around and gives me 200% (yes, I know from a math standpoint, 100% is all I get but from the hearts standpoint, I get more!)

It is about going into these communities and seeing that they didn't cave in, they didn't give up and they were working hard before FEMA the Red Cross or United Way, ever got to them. They remain working hard as these agencies left to take care of other disasters. It is about the love for humanity and yes, I can tell you it still exists and it is amazing!

Just a few of the boxes of quilts we received to pass onto the families, volunteers and first responders of Oso from the first 39 boxes to those that are still coming in, it has been as my granddaughter would say, 'rocking it!'

Opened and counting

Packed and ready to go

What had been great to bless a community has been able to bless my family by showing my grandchildren how important it is to 'give back,' and for them to go to the site of the slide and see it for themselves and to tell others about it!

Trip #1 shot inside van from front to back, minus both back seats!

Trip #2, minus the middle seat and stacked so I could see out this time!

Three trips I have made to the area and thanks to your amazing generosity, we have donated as of yesterday's trip, 376 quilts and 74 handmade fleece blankets and a part of my heart will always be in this little community I had never heard of until tragedy struck.

I mustache you a question. Do we look funny? My two sweet helpers!

This is my granddaughter and her best friend after we had visited the HUB in Arlington and dropped off family quilts and quilts for the volunteers.  They deserved this for getting up at zero dark thirty and having great attitudes!

But, if you want to know how this has affected my granddaughter who took the first trip with me, you should have been a bird in the room yesterday when she was asked by her friend, to tell her why we were there.

Without batting an eye, she stated: 'because our community had a landslide and they really need us to help out and give back.'  Our community? Yes, after being up there several times, after seeing the devastation, after meeting the people and hearing their stories, she in some small way feels a part of the community. After all, isn't that what 'giving back does to people, bring us all together?'  EACH of YOU are now a part of Oso, Arlington and Darrington.

I have met people who have amazed me:

Quilts for the 24 pastors who arrived and stayed to help families and first responders!

For Arlington

Jana Hecla 'Oso Caring'

Quilts for the 911 Center that truly were, 'first on scene!'

For the Firefighters

For Darrington

People like Jana Hecla who have not stopped going since Oso

started and who keep going and tell me, I will rest tomorrow, but for today, there is still work to be done.

To those that don't give up, no matter how unsurmountable the odds, who keep going to make a difference, who 70 days after the devastating landslide are still saying, 'tomorrow I will rest, but today, there is still work to be done.'

For those of you not from Washington, they opened a lane of Highway 530 yesterday, check it out and see how God reached out and blessed a mom!

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Highway-530-reopens-at-mudslide-zone-after-ceremony-261385981.html?tab=video&c=y 

Oso Landslide Quilt Update

As of today, I have the following:

•  247 quilts
•  68 fleece blankets
• 3 boxes of used clothing **PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME CLOTHING** I have no place to store it!
• 1 pink diaper bag with matching quilts
• 2 Vera Bradley bags 

 Last known, there were an additional 70 or so in Mt. Vernon and 40 had been picked up. Today I believe 20 will be handed out to the chaplains that have been in the area since day one, offering comfort and helping where they can! 

There are still more we need, so please adult quilts only from this point on as I spoke to someone in the area last night and she stated there is NOT a big need for baby quilts.

I have been blessed due to my years as being a 911 emergency telecommunications operator to have the confidence of those in the area to keep me somewhat in the loop.

The 2 beautiful matching quilts you see below will go to the rtwo sisters who not only lost their parents, but right after helping with the clean up lost their cousin a military member to suicide.

It is my hope that these 2 that came from two different people in two different states will give these young ladies some comfort knowing the world cares about them.

 Please continue to send quilts, our goal in the beginning was to get 500 and we are almost half way there, so keep them coming.  

I am expecting several calls today to give me some numbers for my journey to the area to drop these off on Friday. Please pray that I can make this trip as it is about 3 hours up there from where I live, the driving in the area for distributing the quilts and the drive back. In all, I am thinking about 10-12 hours in the car.  My back is causing me lots of pain, please pray it settles down.

Thank you so much and if you don't know it, you truly are the most amazing quilters ever!  You are quilting angels!