After a career of nursing and much of her free time dedicated to volunteerism, Linda was no stranger to serving her community. But her current post at the mission, she says, has been the most fulfilling. “The Lord sent me here,” Linda said. “It’s been the most amazing thing for me personally.”

Through a workers compensation program, Linda got involved in the mission. She works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the front desk. “The staff has been wonderful, but the most valuable part has been working with the people, the clients who come in,” she said. “I explained it to my family as, ‘It fills my heart, but it hurts my heart too.”

Linda’s husband, mother, and son live in upstate New York, and her three other children, now in their late 30s and early 40s, are scattered elsewhere around the country. She also has six grandchildren. “I always felt I was meant to be here in Victorville for a reason,” Linda said.

Linda, her husband, and their kids are service-oriented and are active in the Junior Chamber of Commerce. “My children were raised that volunteerism is a way of life,” she said. “All of my life I’ve done things, but this is the ultimate … this is giving me more of a feeling of accomplishment. It’s brought me closer to God—you can’t not get closer when you’re talking to the people coming in.”

“I love working with the guys in the program,” added Linda, referring to the clients who also volunteer around the office. “Watching them grow since I’ve been here, watching them become stronger in the Lord, it’s been amazing.”

Linda said she’s been in awe of all the different ways the mission reaches out, including clothing distribution, the food pantry, and the weekly farmers market. “It makes me feel like I want to do even more.”