Gratitude (October 26, 2008)

I was in one of my church meetings this morning and ran across a letter by a nonmember. I think the letter gives us hope in the younger generation, and also makes me a little homesick for my little man Sam. Here is the letter from an older couple:

Dear Mike,

We want to thank you and your team --Sean, Sammy, Kyle, and Jeff-- for the work they did last evening.

The ivy on the wall had become of considerable concern to us; we knew it had to be cut back. We also recognized we could not do the job ourselves. That's a very frustrating feeling.

We sincerely appreciate the work you team did, including the cleaning up and bagging of all trimmings.

There is something else we'd like to mention; it concerns the young people of Albuquerque. Whenever we pick up a copy of the Journal there invariably are articles describing Albuquerque's youth as school dropouts incapable of holding a job, as having wild parties in which alcohol, drugs and sex are the major features, as criminals involved in robberies, stabbings, shootings, etc. In short, the Journal paints a horrible picture of Albuquerque's youth. No doubt some of this is true.

It was so refreshing to visit with Sean, Sam and Kyle. The lads are intelligent, courteous, down-to-earth team-workers whose moral compasses are set in concrete. They are living proof that some of Albuquerque's lads are the finest you'll ever encounter.

We are certain Sean's Sam's and Kyle's parents are justifiably very proud of their children. And, we are certain you are very proud to call them members of your team.

Sincerely,
Jim and June