Sunday Morning after Thanksgiving at the Homeless Kitchen

The serving line for breakfast

Jake and Robert crack eggs with two hands.

                                             

Breakfast and Lunch

 Sunday morning My Grandson Jake and I spent a great morning before Church at out local Homeless Mission Kitchen. Every one had a very nice morning. A wonderful breakfast was provided, A great message was delivered...14 people found salvation that day!!, bag lunches for everyone, and vouchers for the thrift store for everyone. This ministry is doing a great work here in Sumter please consider them in your prayers as they do Gods work...

From my grandsons perspective on the Thanksgiving Blessing Project

This was my first time helping out with the Help Out Guys, and it was a truly eye-opening, touching experience. At about 11:00 this morning, my mom, Granddaddy (David), Nanny (Susan), and myself piled into the HOPEMOBILE and set off. Over about an hour and a half, we delivered four turkeys to four unique homes. Each showed me something completely different, while giving me brand new experiences that I can't come by in Pasadena, California, where I live. Our first stop was to an old woman's home. She was without electricity, and only lived in one room of her brick house for the cost. G-Daddy and I knocked on the door, and her thirty-year-old daughter opened the door. Looking in, the house was in bad shape. There was clutter everywhere; books, paper, candles...you name it, it was probably in there in some pile somewhere. At first, the woman who answered the door seemed sort of skeptical...the big red van in the driveway and the two of us with a massive cardboard box would be kinda strange. When David introduced himself, she recalled the time The Help Out Guys had installed an air conditioning unit in her house. We told her what was in the box, and her thankfulness was obvious in her smile and in her eyes. Walking away from her house, I noticed a smile spreading across my face. Our second stop was at a house of three kids. There was an older girl, another sister of about 11 or 12, and a 5 or 6 year old boy. Before opening the door, the boy shouted, "Who are you with!". Granddaddy told him that it was David, and with a smile, the boy opened the door. Behind him, his two sisters were standing. They smiled tentatively as G-Daddy introduced me, and then he told him what we had brought. The eldest lit up with a smile, saying that our turkey would let them have dinner with their father for Thanksgiving. The third stop was my favorite of the day. To get there, the HOPEMOBILE had to drive through the Boulevard, an extraordinarily poor road with many houses in awful condition. Upon our arrival, G-Daddy instantly told me that nobody was home. Disappointed, I opened the screen door, and set it on the rickety porch. There was no light inside the house, but as we were walking away, I saw the blinds open ever so slightly. A young girl's smiling face peeked out. I smiled and waved. Encouraged, David and I walked back to the front door and knocked. A young man of about 25 looked out. He was very skeptical about our arrival. He had no idea who we were, or what we were doing. Unlike the first house, this was somebody who had no idea who we were or what we were doing. We introduced ourselves, and as we took our time, he became more and more suspicious. Finally, Granddaddy told him what we had with us in the box. When we told him we had a Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings, his face lit up. He was clearly shocked, and I couldn't help but smile. The three kids behind him were grinning massive, cheesy smiles. As I handed him the box, he said the most sincere "Thank You" I have ever heard. He thanked us again and again, all the while with a incredulous look on his face. As we drove away from the house, he kept looking out the door, waving and staring. He could not believe what had just happened. There was something that was apparent to me. Thanksgiving was absolutely not going to happen in that household tomorrow, not until we gave him that turkey. The fourth and final stop was also near the Boulevard. Granddaddy had named the place we were going "The End of the Road", and when we got there, I realized how apt the name was. All the way at the end of a long dirt road, on the edge of the forest, there looked to be a little tool shed and a trailer. We pulled up, and walked up to the entrance of the small, beat up trailer. We were greeted by a 30 year old woman and her sick mother. They were pleasantly surprised that we had arrived, and they were equally confused. This was the only house that I went into, and it was in bad shape. The ceiling was pitch black from the kerosene, and the walls were only cement. There were two mattresses, a stove, and that was the extent of it. The washing was lying on the bed. I put the turkey, cookie dough, and stuffing next to the stove, and conversed with them for a few minutes while G-Daddy went back to the truck to get money for kerosene, and they told me about their situation, and how bod they felt about accepting our help. I reassured them that it was as positive an experience for me as it was for them, and gave them a few hugs before David got back in. It was only as we were finally walking out that I saw the aforementioned shed wasn't filled with tools or gardening equipment. Inside the shed, there was space for three more people to live. The young woman's uncle was her next door neighbor, living with two of his buddies inside of a shed. We didn't stop to talk, but they waved to us heartily as we walked away. At the end of a couple hours of satisfying hard work, I felt happier and more purposed than I had in a long while.

A few photos from our Thanksgiving mission today

Loading the boxes

Winter Coats for the Homeless Shelter



more winter coats

Our family during set up

Turkeys cooking



The family at the community care home.

Early this morning..Thanksgiving Blessing

Box Prep area this morning.

About sun up this morning. Turkeys looking ready!!
 

In just a while we will hit the street and deliver... Winter Coats and the Thanksgiving love boxes all over Sumter. It is our prayer that every one we meet today will be blessed indeed!

A special note to some special friends who helped make today possible: Rev. Hanks, Jeff Francis and the California McCarthys... We want to wish you guys a very special blessing this Thanksgiving.

This weekend the Thanksgiving Blessing begins

This weekend we begin the "Front work" for our Thanksgiving Blessing. This Thanksgiving we will be delivering Thanksgiving turkeys and the fixins all over town. Please pray for this ministry as we go to the streets.  I will post more on this as we go along...

A Facebook project...for SMILE TRAIN.ORG

Today we were able to join with some Facebook friends and provide 8 cleft surgeries for these children.


Smile Train is the world's largest cleft charity
where a simple 45 minute surgery
that costs as little as $250, can
change a child's life FOREVER.   We would like to ask all of our supporters to give these folks a good look. This is a good work!!!
 

The play set is here and installed at the shelter.

This is the play set that was delivered to the shelter today! It looks great!!  I am sure that the kids will have a ball on it. I am thankful that God would allow us to give this to the Ladies and Kids shelter.  What a good day it was today!!   We would ask that you would remember the people that will live here and the kind folks that run the shelter in your prayers.

Today is the day !!!,

As I write this post, the delivery folks are at the children's shelter installing the playground equipment!!  Thank you Lord!!  I will post photos as soon as I can.

On another note, this week we were blessed to be able to provide our local disabilities board clients with several winter coats. Is is hard to think of grade school kids waiting for the school bus without a winter coat. I am thankful that we are able to help in some way.  God is good!