Elder Paulson and Elder Thueson
Arlington Charities is blessed to have a group of high school and college aged missionaries from the Jesus Christ Church of the Latter-Day Saints, who come to volunteer every Friday. This large group of young adults come from all over the world to spread the word of Jesus as well as volunteer at local charities around their area. When they arrive in their assigned location they are paired with a “Companion,” whom they live together and go on assignments with.
Companions, Elder Paulson from Wyoming and Elder Thueson from Idaho, have been volunteering with Arlington Charities for six months and four months respectively. Both are recent high school graduates who will embark on this two year mission together before heading to college. Along with Arlington Charities they volunteer with the salvation army and take up opportunities listed on JustServe.com such as Fall Festival in North Arlington. For fun, Elder Thueson plays tennis and is interested in astronomy while Elder Paulson plays basketball and soccer.
The Companions enjoy volunteering at Arlington Charities immensely. Thueson says he is “happy and feels better after serving.” Paulson, on the other hand, asserts that his favorite part are the people. “Everyone is so selfless, and you get to meet a lot of great people and hear about a lot of different services” says Paulson. Both Elders really enjoy volunteering at Arlington Charities’ monthly mobile pantries because they get to serve a lot more people than on regular days, it is outdoors, and they “don’t have to clean the fridge.” Their favorite memory from their time volunteering was a few weeks ago it was an elderly client’s birthday. The elders and sisters decided to say a prayer with her and sing her happy birthday. She began to cry and told the group that they had “really made her day.”
Elder Paulson and Elder Thueson would wholeheartedly recommend volunteering to others. Their advice is to “just do it, no matter how smart you are, strong you are, or whatever, Arlington Charities has a place for everybody to work.”
If you are inspired by the Elders and would like to volunteer yourself, please visit https://www.arlingtoncharities.org/volunteer