Service on Wheels

By Hillary Holbrook

Service can come in many forms: baking cookies, raking leaves, babysitting. But for a group of young men in Mesa, Arizona, service has come in a different form: pushing wheelchairs.

Every Sunday, the priests quorum in the Glenview Ward, Mesa Arizona Kimball Stake, give elderly sisters the chance to partake of the sacrament by pushing their wheelchairs from an assisted living home to their ward meetinghouse. Here’s what the young men have to say about the service:

What is the best part about serving the sisters?

“The best part about taking the sisters to church every week is seeing the looks of gratitude in their eyes. They’re so happy. You can tell that they really enjoy coming to church and partaking of the sacrament.”

—Brad Bishop

“There are some who can’t even talk, yet their gratitude is clearly expressed through their beaming faces. One great thing about the sisters is that they have a great sense of humor. They always have good jokes.”

—Tyson Anderson

How do you feel when you serve?

“When I can help the sisters go to church by pushing their wheelchairs, I feel really good. When we arrive at the meetinghouse, ward members always talk with the sisters. We take them to church, but the members go the extra mile to visit with them.”

—Nathan Carroll

“When our quorum first got the assignment to push wheelchairs, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But now I love to serve the sisters. I have fun talking to them about life.”

—Leighton Carroll

“When I serve the sisters, I feel amazed by their dedication. It takes a lot of effort for them to get up early and get ready, but they always come. They always have smiles on their faces.”

—Austin McNeil

Photograph by Sharon V. McRae

It isn’t hard to be a big wheel if you’re a priest in the Glenview Ward. All you have to do is give a little service.