Hershberger's to serve as SOOP Directors

How does one close down a three-year run at SOOP Glendale? A place of   (mostly) sun, (some) winter warmth, engaging friendships, meaningful   volunteer partners, a highly supportive governing board in Hospitality   Services Center, and a welcoming church that tolerates our frequent comings   and goings and warmly welcomes us back every fall. We have absolutely loved   this assignment. It seemed to fit both our abilities and interests and has   been so rich in relationships and deeply life-giving though mentally,   physically and emotionally challenging working 16-hour days week in and week   out for a five- month stretch. So why are we leaving that behind? The reasons   are multiple.
 

 The biggest downside of this assignment is splitting our lives between two   communities we love. We are happy both here and in Harrisonburg but find that   it is hard to stay connected to either group well when we are gone half the   year.  We moved to Harrisonburg six years ago to be near family and put   down roots in a small community that we could fall back on in our aging   days....we hope many days down the road. It’s time to work on that phase of   our lives.
 

 In addition, our children have always supported our time here, but we also   know that we committed to being available when they need us, and that is hard   to do when we are tied in to this for half the year. Not only have they had   to step up to the plate and take care of our property at home with never a   word of complaint, but our neighbors have been absolute gifts to us by   watching our house daily. We could not have done this as carefree as we have   without both of those components filling in the gaps from our gadding about.
 

 Finally, Ben hopes to engage in more hands-on activities attending to his   garden, bees and potential involvement with MDS.  I, on the other hand, gave   up swinging cement blocks and roofing houses a long time ago. I would be the   Mennonite disaster on the work site! I hope to become more engaged at my   favorite used bookstore, Booksavers of Virginia, the local MCC thrift store.   We don’t have any exotic travel plans or exciting roles to fill. Except to   hide in Harrisonburg for a while, dig in the flower beds, take walks down   quiet lanes, read a book for 30 minutes without at least three interruptions,   take some time to hang out with family, and process life in the slower lane.
Things we’ll miss here: constant energy in the house; saying hello to new and   returning SOOPers; shuffling said SOOPers to and from their volunteer spots   and hearing their resultant anecdotes; planned and executed delicious full-course   dinner meals every night created by someone other than me; stimulating dinner   conversations on every topic under the sun; praying together over common   concerns; shopping for food on someone else’s credit card; free Trader Joe   date-sensitive food reclamation; gallons of freshly-squeezed orange juice   gleaned from a P.M. excursion picking someone’s backyard oranges; regular   walks across the street to see Peter and Rheta Mae and learn from their   masterful examples of aging with wisdom and grace; interaction with our   partnering agencies and participating in all the good services they provide   for the needs in Phoenix; group excursions exploring the greater Phoenix   area.
 

 Things we won’t miss: constant energy in the house; saying goodbyes to SOOP   guests; buying 72-roll packs of toilet paper twice a month; making a pass by   the banana stand every trip to the grocery store (TP and bananas can NOT be   overstocked!); mopping the dining/kitchen floors every morning after the   volunteers leave for work; sectioning bushels of gleaned grapefruit for   easier eating in the early morning rush to work sites; three meals a day   complete with dessert; loading and unloading the dishwasher multiple times a   day; endless hours on the computer scheduling arrival/departure dates, room space   and daily volunteer sites.
 

 So all of that to say, we both feel that now is the time to move on. The HSC   board will find good people to fill the gap, but we will miss it terribly. I   dread the day of our departure in April, but God-willing we’ll make the bend   in the road without crashing and burning.  We certainly take a huge   piece of this place with us and will always be grateful for the opportunity   to serve with HSC/SOOP in Glendale. Each of you, whether board member, SOOP   member, or church member, has been such a gift to us. Thank you for the   opportunity to serve alongside of you.