We Need a Singer

The homeless get restless when they line up to get their food and it is not ready. So to take their minds off their stomachs, we ask someone to sing, and of course, they better be good. Tonight that is exactly what happened and the unplanned singer was great. Many times we have to improvise to get the job done.

Tonight, we served 65 meals with the assistance of 14 volunteers.
~Marc

Our Volunteers

The volunteers are amazing... We seem to develop a comarade that none of us would have outside of the ministry. One volunteer told me last night that it is so cool to serve along side people from different backgrounds who just love hanging out with the homeless. He added that others don’t know what they are missing. From our desire to serve, we develop lasting friendships. Gordon, who has been coming about 3 months, filled in for Paul and provided everyone a powerful message. Another slipped me a very generous check for the ministry which we always need. That family supports us with their time and money. What a blessing.

It is always good to see volunteers bring new volunteers with them. Last night one lady brought a couple who jumped right in cutting and chopping in the kitchen and later working in the “dish pit” A job that not everyone wants to tackle.

.

I can not leave out the homeless volunteers. “Frenchie” always loves to serve and then there was “Frog” who couldn’t wait to start cleaning up and carrying out the trash. He has not been well physically in the past, but tonight he was much better and had to strength to help out. Everyone volunteer is appreciated.
~Marc

Hard Night

It is easy to become complacent downtown not being aware that there can be some dangers with the people we serve. Because of this, Paul and Charity started the evening with a meeting with the volunteers in the kitchen. They reminded everyone to be cautious and stay in pairs, ladies should not walk out to their cars alone, and ladies should not become too involved with the opposite sex and be especially cautious with their children. Even though everyone is, for the most part, very friendly and appreciative, there are many who have sexual criminal backgrounds.

Later during Paul’s teaching we had an example of this type of behavior. One individual kept talking loudly with his neighbor and becoming unruly while Paul was teaching. Paul asked him to please be respectful and not talk while he was teaching. But he continued and finally Paul had to get some assistance to eject him from the premises. Later he came back and said he was either staying or we would have to call the police. So unfortunately, we followed his advice.

Regardless of the difficulties, many volunteers spent quality time with the homeless. We saw a lot of new faces which leads me to believe that things are getting worse financially for many folks. We were pleased to serve 85 meals with the assistance of 22 volunteers last Tuesday night.
~Marc

Many Needs

When the weather gets really cold, like it was last Tuesday night, I know there will be a lot of needs. One lady gave Paul an electric bill for over $600.00. That pretty overwhelming for a small minister likes ours but it is really overwhelming to her since she could be without heat soon. Another needed kerosene and someone else needed gas for their vehicle so they could travel to Columbia where they had a job. Most of these needs are taken care of in the last hour before leaving. It can get a little dicey when there are so many people trying to talk to one person. We can not meet every need but we try.

We served 45 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers. The numbers are usually down when it is really cold. I expect that many find a warm place early and just stay put.
~Marc