06/09/2026
We celebrated three birthdays on Sunday. One was Saturday and the other two are actually today. One of the guys didn't show up but we sent his cake with one of his friends. Our birthday girl was there first so she got to pick between the raspberry cake and the chocolate chip cake and she picked raspberry. We sang very loud and off-key before she blew out her candle.
We served some lovely things like Donna's chicken alfredo pasta, Bob's chicken with mixed vegetables, pizza, big salads, marinated pork, confetti rice, Rachel and Safa's lovely cheesy beef pasta, hot dogs and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes, chicken broccoli rice casserole with with a couple kinds of cheese, coleslaw, egg salad, chicken salad with grapes, and tuna salad along with PB&j sandwiches from Charlton UMC.
Thank you to Country Gourmet at the Market, Panera Bread, Marci’s At The Market, and the bagel place at West Shore Farmers Market, if someone could please tag them, for your food donations. Thank you to everyone who picks up from these places! Big thanks to Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen. We would be lost without you. I couldn't pull off this production in my kitchen any longer.
Please pray for our previously differently sheltered friend who is now housed. He's going through cancer treatment and not feeling well. I'm sure he would appreciate your thoughts.
Volunteers this week: Jerry, Bob, Carol, Danielle, Tammy, Kelly, Ashley, and Thomas. My team is amazing. They bring me to tears. One wasn't feeling well but showed up anyway and gave it the old college try before she just had to go. One was preparing for a medical procedure the next day and stuck around longer than he had to. One had family visiting from out of state and still came to the kitchen to wash pans and help clean up. I love you all.
We are serving at a place I've named The Meeting Place because it's a place where any other outreach can come and serve alongside us. We were joined this week by Hands and Feet Ministry and Dayspring Ministry. We like to be together all in one place so our friends don't have to choose between us! They can see all of us at once.
They are loving the coloring books and crayons and art supplies, folks! It's one of the first things they sn**ch up. So if you have any grown up coloring books or colored pens or anything they can use to keep their hands and minds busy, awesome!
The day started out with the van not starting for me. Jerry went to try to start it and it wouldn't. Bob was passing by and saw Jerry and pulled over to help get the totes out of the van and into Bob's vehicle. I asked if they tried to jiggle the connection. Bob admitted they laughed at my suggestion. But guess what? It worked. Jerry said, did you try to jiggle the connection? I said oh no. I'm scared of all that under the hood stuff! I just know things. 😄
Then our Walmart delivery was brought to the church whereupon the driver inconvenienced someone with a baby by banging on a window and waking the baby up, pointed to the phone showing the address of the church, was told this was the place, and then he turned around and left with my cucumbers and cake mixes and hot dogs and cream cheese. Bob ran down to the grocery store for me to pick up the stuff I needed because the redelivery time was 3:00 p.m. and we'd already be out there serving!
Please note: items in the vestibule are donated for a specific purpose or specific people. They are not free for the taking. We had over $100 worth of items disappear from the vestibule. Who would steal pan liners from a homeless outreach?? If you took them, please do the right thing and return them. I'm going to pray for you. We did receive a note from someone who was interested in the nightstands that were dropped off for Sunshine and I'm so very thankful that they left a note rather than just taking them.
Please keep us as a team and our differently sheltered friends in your prayers! God bless and thank you so much for making this possible every week through your donations, your time and effort, or your prayers.
