[MUSIC - "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS"]
We are a group of youth, and we sing hymns to the residents
here at Heritage Place.
It doesn't matter if you sing well;
you just come and have a good time.
This has been really one of the few service opportunities
that I've chosen to do for myself.
It's wonderful that teenagers can
find something good to do every Sunday
night without being asked.
They do it on their own.
They want to come.
(SINGING) Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings; see what God hath done.
I was one of the eight or nine people
that first came in July of 1999, and we just
decided to keep it going every Sunday.
It expanded, friends started telling friends,
and it kind of took a life of its own.
It's so exciting to go and see them with tears in their eyes
or just smiles on their faces and know that you're actually
making a difference.
My spirit is lifted.
And it feels like I am closer to my Father in Heaven and Jesus
Christ.
I think the youth singing have no idea what
they add to the lives of not just
the residents, but the families.
We had to bring Mom here, and she was scared to death.
And then we heard the hymns.
My mother started singing along, and you could just
see the help and comfort that the youth brought her.
And it was just, to us, like guardian angels
had surrounded us on one of the hardest days of our life.
Hymns are such a fantastic tool that we have.
It's like missionary work.
When you really, really love something,
you can't help but share it.
It's blessed me spiritually.
It brings me closer to my Savior.
I really like that, especially at the end of singing,
they always go and talk to the residents.
And I think that really helps them
to see that these are real people with amazing lives
that we have so much to learn from.
I have come to love those I meet here.
You hear from a lot of them that it's
the highlight of their week.
They'll know you better than you know them.
They'll say, "Where were you last week?
You didn't come."
And it's nice to be able to go up and shake their hand,
because you realize that they actually care for you.
They come up and they give me a hug.
It's just so neat.
And you don't know what that means to an elderly person.
I mean, you have no idea.
They'll grab my hand and pull me in and give me a hug
and say, "I love when you sing, because I watch your smile
and it just makes me smile."
[MUSIC]