October 16th was Maplewood Academy’s annual Community Service Day. The entire student body and faculty dedicated the day to showing God’s love through the gift of service in the city of Hutchinson. Thirteen groups were found throughout the community raking leaves, pulling weeds, cleaning parks and even picking apples. The air was cool and the gusty wind had a play day with the nicely raked piles of leaves, but the sun was shining and the students’ spirits were high. “It was really cold, but I felt good about helping people,” says Anesia Nahimana, a Freshman at Maplewood.
For four hours the students worked hard, with the occasional break to jump into the enticing piles of leaves. Sophomore, MaryAnne Birai, raked leaves for a family in Hutchinson and then helped pick up fallen sticks in a park. She says, “It made me feel great when people congratulated us for doing a good job. It made my heart smile!” “Today was good because I felt like I was helping the community and doing my part,” says Freshman, Yande Musonda, who helped rake leaves for the SDA Twice Is Nice. The students worked hard and their efforts have a positive impact on the people in our community. Sometimes the little things are what show God’s love in the biggest way.
