One of the best parts of volunteering at Renesting is getting to meet the other people that are volunteering. Before the pandemic, the staff and volunteers would all eat lunch together at an 18-foot table. We’d chat about the weekend, current events, where we came from, our travel plans- anything and everything. Some of the most interesting people to talk to around the lunch table were the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The missionaries started volunteering in March of 2016 when Elder Hernandez reached out to Noel and asked if he and a few other missionaries could sign up to volunteer. It was a group of 5 or 6 and we loved having them! They were hard-working and friendly, had great stories to tell at the lunch table.
Unfortunately, they were transferred after six weeks. It was hard to see them go, but then all of a sudden a new group of missionaries came to the Nest. They told us the previous missionaries had left a note in the apartment telling the new tenets about Renesting and how great it was to volunteer.
That note has resulted in over four years of consistent missionary volunteers from as close as Texas and as far as China! The pandemic resulted in a bit of a lag, but this week we had two elders sign up to continue the streak of generosity. While we won’t have the opportunity to eat lunch with them here at the Nest, we are so glad to start getting back to normal with at least a few of our volunteers- even if they’re 6 feet away and wearing a mask!