Work that beats a day on the golf course

Peter (standing) and John Peters consider volunteering at the MCC Furniture and More Shop better than a day on the golf course.

Their workspace is a sea of wires, bolts, bits of plastic and tools. The carcass of an abandoned TV lies exposed on a table where Peter Peters works to remove recyclable material from its shell. He is recovering from a wrist operation so it’s a little slower going today. Behind him, his brother John pries the metal bottom off an old kettle so that it can be recycled as well. John is here six days a week, often as early as 6 a.m.; Peter only slightly less frequently. What is really remarkable about them is that they are volunteers, both in their 80s, happy to be doing something meaningful.

The Peters brothers volunteer at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Furniture and More shop at the MCC Plaza in Abbotsford, B.C. Their story is like that of many Mennonites in this area. Born in Russia, they remember being saved from starvation because MCC sent rice to their village. The family fled Russia and made it to Canada in the early thirties where they spent the Depression trying to farm and herd cattle in Manitoba. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the brothers moved to Abbotsford, the place they’ve called home ever since. And volunteering with MCC has been a part of their lives all the way along.

“John was one of the ribbon cutters when they opened this place,” Peter says, referring to the Plaza, which opened its doors in 1989. The two volunteered here before they retired and have simply made it their work ever since.

As you look past the Peters’ brothers work area to the other workspaces beyond, it is much like a beehive crawling with activity. Volunteers are doing everything from repairing small appliances to sorting mattresses and furniture. The sound of men’s laughter can be heard over the buzz of a saw or the clang of a hammer. It is clear that these men are here because they love what they do. Most of them are retired, but not all.

I take a photo of the Peters brothers and the camera flash draws attention. Another volunteer pokes his head out from behind a wall where he is working on bicycles. Bicycle rims and tires line one wall and bits and pieces of old bikes lie on the floor in a corner. Here, new bikes are made out of old, and sold upstairs in the Furniture and More shop or, in special circumstances, are given away.

One little bicycle is waiting to go to a little boy whose bike was stolen. Another thirty are being made ready to go to Ghana along with other material aid being prepared by Northview Community Church.

“I dealt with a lot of depression earlier but it’s great therapy to work here – it’s been a life saver,” this volunteer says. “God has blessed me – I look at it that way because I can’t look at it any other way.”

The Peters brothers echo that sentiment. When asked why they do this instead of anything else, Peter responds.

“This is where we belong,” he says quietly, almost reverently, gesturing at the scrap-littered space that is obviously home to him. Then he smiles. “People ask me if it pays to work here. I tell them, well it pays better than golfing!”

John laughs. “This is a good place to work,” he says, adding that volunteers are needed and anyone is welcome to come and volunteer as long as they are willing to work. Judging from the activity and laughter all around me, Peter’s golf sentiments might be truer than he realizes: a good day volunteering just might beat a frustrating day at the golf course!

Angelika Dawson is a writer with the communications department of Mennonite Central Committee B.C. This article was written last December.