personal moving company for the church

[Scovy]

Since being new I couldn't find any topic on this so hopefully I'm not over posting on this. I currently live in a ward that is vast in numbers 800 + but only 150+ come to church. Needs in the ward are great, never a minute were someone isn't in need of some type of help. Like any male in the ward I've done countless helps with families moving in and out of wards. From apartments to mansions. I actually enjoy them when people are prepared for their move.

What something that has given me a lot of bitterness is people that purposely take advantage of the church to help them move. An EQP/Bishop that can't say no to people that have obvious issues with hoarding/getting evicted/storage units and gets members involved in cleaning their place up. Being the only member in the ward that owns a truck has become more of a curse than a blessing. On average I get several calls a month asking to borrow my truck or help take something to the dump. Dealing with hoarders, storage units and piles of garbage finally got me burned out. I told the local leaders I'm no longer available to help anyone to move.

Now friends and family members I will always reach out. But was wondering has anyone been in similar situations. I'm not directing my little rant to everyone as there are legitimate reasons people need help but for me its been being asked at the absolute last minute and takes time away from my family.

Edited April 1, 2012 by Scovy

[skippy740]

Memorize this phrase and recite it as often as necessary:

"Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

Other one to possibly keep in mind:

"My truck belongs to me, not the community or the church. I'm not strong enough yet for the law of consecration, so I'll be selfish with my time and resources."

[ADoyle90815]

You could also get that bumper sticker that says, "Yes this is my truck. No, I won't help you move!" For me, I prefer to hire professionals to help me move, as it helps them keep their jobs.

[Mahone]

I had similar issues, but different area of help requested for a long time. As one of only a couple of sysadmins in the ward, and the only one that was usually willing to help, it ended up that almost every evening of mine was taken up fixing someone elses computer.

I genuinely don't mind helping someone that is in genuine need once or twice, but some people were repeat offenders on a regular basis, and when two people asked me to spend several hours helping them with their issues knowing that it was merely days before I was due to fly abroad for my wedding, I learnt how to say no. I've not turned back :)

[bcguy]

It would be funny, but call forward your number to u-haul

We do not have this problem but, we did have a single woman and her kid move from our city south of Vancouver all the way to the middle of British Columbia. We got to her place and she had dumped TWO DUMPSTERS worth of stuff into the dumpster. She said it was 20 years worth of accumulation. She said it was getting really expensive to live here, hence she was selling the house and moving up north. But I really wonder, with the dollar amount inside that dumpster, could the money have been used to keep her house up to par?

[Just_A_Guy]

I don't mind showing up in person (I've sort of thought that one Saturday a month would be my moving max, though I've never been in a ward that tested that limit yet). I'd be very reluctant to donate my truck (assuming I had one), though--my sad experience is that Church members can unfortunately be almost cavalierly neglectful about the way they treat other people's stuff. Renting a pickup from the local Home Depot--or even a U-Haul--isn't horrendously expensive these days; and if push came to shove I wouldn't mind donating twenty bucks to that cause.

[pam]

I for one will never contact the Elders quorum to help me move again. I did that about 9 years ago and they scratched almost every single table I had. It was as if my things didn't matter to any of them doing the moving. Last move I did, I hired a U-haul and did it myself.

[beefche]

Here's what's done in our ward:

Our ward has new rules (well, new as of 4 years ago). All ward moves are to be run through the EQP. He will inspect home (a quick walk through)--if the home is unsanitary, no help in moving. Too much liability for the church if someone gets sick or something. After the walk through, the family is instructed they are required to pack their things. If they need help packing (due to disability or some reasonable reason) then we can organize people to help pack. The family is to provide trucks (either ask friends or rent a truck). The EQP will be at the house on X date and will help move for X time. They will only move large items (such as furniture) and boxes that are packed.

With those rules, people seem to take more responsibility and realize that the church is not a moving service. The church is liable if anyone gets hurt during the move (I know a guy who hurt his back moving someone and the church paid for his medical bills), so our ward decided to reduce the requests of those "I've known I needed to move for 6 months, but now I have to move out by tomorrow at midnight and I've not packed anything because I thought the whole ward would just show up and do all the work" demands.

Of course circumstances vary, but the EQP is pretty good at recognizing true need with laziness.