Moving Projects Are Hard

I’ve talked about how hard moving projects are at NeighborLink Fort Wayne before, but I think it’s good to continue talking about what makes these projects so hard. It’s the same things that makes volunteering on other projects at NeighborLink hard. 

Sure, the physical strength needed to move stuff makes it hard work, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about what goes on inside of you emotionally when you rub up against someone’s stuff, their lifestyle, their planning/packing styles, and their reasons for moving. This is why it’s so hard. 

This past Saturday, a large group of young adults (FMC’s Catalyst Community & IPFW’s Global Christian Fellowship members) helped Super Volunteer, Jeff Shatto, move a single woman. The woman had been renting this house for quite a few years and when the furnace went out this summer, the landlord decided that he didn’t want to fix it and would choose to use the house as storage for now. So, she’s got to go. She didn’t want to go. Who really wants to move when you’ve made a home for yourself and you’re living sustainably. But, you have to respect the homeowner’s wish to do whatever he wants to his house. 

      

(City-Wide Delivery is a major supporter of NeighborLink. They’ve provided over $2,000 in moving services this year alone by allowing us to use their trucks. Please support them the next time you need to hire some movers.)

Fast forward to all the usual challenges with volunteering for moving projects. 

• The recipient always needs moved a week ago
• There are physical ability issues that prevent them from being packed
• Packing & Moving is a time consuming and often overwhelming process
• Since it’s overwhelming in nature, very few are eager to volunteer for them
• We only have limited access to moving trucks
• There always seems to be a “catch" - dirty, hoarding, cluttered, animals, multi-story building, eviction moving, bugs, heavy items, lots of trash, etc…

I list these because they are REAL challenges that we face at NeighborLink when we try to move. They aren’t listed in judgement towards the recipients because I know full well that anyone moving my stuff would have challenges to. I know what my friends & family think about when I’ve asked them to help Michelle and I move several times. (Why am I moving this and why are you hanging on to all those toys from childhood. Grow up already). 

Getting a first-hand view into someone’s life by rubbing up against their “stuff" tells you a lot about a person without ever needing to talk to them. It leads us to immediately judge their living situation against our own. We go deep into our internal core values instantly and begin to question their situation. Our natural response to that is to come up with a list a mile long why the way they’re living is wrong. If you don’t believe me, come on the next moving project with NeighborLink. 

    

(Super Volunteer, Jeff Shatto. He’s moved over 25 people in the last 2 years at least among countless other projects. Contact Jeff if you ever want to know what volunteering at NeighborLink is like)

All difficulties aside and back to this project’s details, the day went really well. There were over 15 volunteers there to help, which helped contribute to the move being done in about 3 hours. There were quite a few of the usual challenges present at this move since the recipient has a physical disability that prevented a lot of preparation needed, and with the obvious time crunch of being asked to leave ASAP. 

     

I was grateful to see all the volunteers jump in and make the project go as smoothly as possible. They were gracious to the recipient and to all of her belongings. Another successful project completed for someone in desperate need by NeighborLink volunteers. The generosity and abilities of our volunteers never ceases to amaze me. 

Moving projects are completely do-able and one of the easier projects when looked at from a task standpoint. They require patience, an ability to organize and lead people in a unified, calm manor. The project will always get done once you show up, but showing up by taking initiative will always a challenge regardless of the project. 

I think I’ll always struggle with any project that has to do with rubbing up with someone’s stuff, but that’s OK. It is in how I respond and conduct myself in the midst of the project that’s important. I’ve learned over the years of doing these projects that there is tremendous power in our things and it doesn’t matter if it’s old newspapers or a $2000 flat screen TV. I’ve learned that in serving others, there is always a value proposition at work and it’s not for me in the moment to undervalue someone’s stuff or their situation. We all make decisions that are best for us in the moment based on our collected experiences and while we’d like others to make the same decisions that we would have made, it’s unrealistic for that to have happened. In order for me to to earn that right, I have to have a relationship built on trust that conveys the message that I have their best interest in mind. Being a volunteer that just shows up hasn’t earned that trust and will in most cases loose the battle of that value proposition.

I encourage you if you’ve ever taken a project like this whether it was with NeighborLink or not, don’t do it alone. Sharing these types of experiences is crucial because it’s important to process your experience with a community of people. It’s in reflection that transformation happens.