Soup Kitchen

I volunteer at a soup kitchen on Wednesdays at my church. The ministry is called His Table & it is led by the 2 most awesome people you could ever meet in your lifetime.

It was February 2009 & our church bulletin had listed that they were looking for help. I felt the call & went that Wednesday & I have never been the same again. I never thought that I would want to do dishes....especially for free...that I would want to be there working my tail off to the point of exhaustion at the end of the night. Yet if you met the people---you would know why. I will call them Momma & Poppa. I observed them for a few weeks as I scrubbed pots and pans, scoured the stove & wiped up spills. I watched how Poppa would deliver a wonderful Word of God whether anyone was listening or not. I watched how Momma would tell each and every person that Jesus loves them, no matter what. I came to tears as I realized how much of their blood, sweat, tears & heart have been put into this ministry.

You are treated like a king or queen coming through that door. Just imagine: You come through the door to some of the most awesome aroma's you have encountered all week. You get in line & are greeted by an awesome woman we will call CV as she asks you how your day was and smiles. You get meat, veggies, green salad, bread, dressing & dessert. You find a table sit down & notice there is a table with coffee, tea, hot cocoa, iced tea, butter for your bread and any condiments you might need. As you eat you get a Word of the Lord with an invitation to salvation. You end your day with maybe getting some to take home.

What has me in the most awe---Momma & Poppa pay for it out of their own money. There is no organization or federal grants....it's all them. I will give you last weeks meal for example: BBQ pork ribs, corn, green salad, macaroni salad & dessert. This food is made as if she were cooking it in her own home. Nothing is skipped, everything is done with love & joy. They love people.

There are all walks of life coming through that church door every Wednesday. There is the homeless, the lonely (especially the elderly), the drug addict, the prostitute, the gang banger, the mentally ill, the alcoholic, the weary, the tired, the weak, the trapped, the lost, the hurt, the rejected..they are treated with love, kindness & respect. They are hugged and loved without judgment, no questions are asked of them. As Momma would say "Nobody hugs them, I have to, noone else does"

I never thought I would be so blessed washing dishes. I am soaked with water & sweat by the end of the night. I love being around them, the whole atmosphere says Jesus is here. What a wonderful way to serve our Lord and get our socks blessed off in the meantime. I walk out of their changed every Wednesday evening. They have been there cooking & preparing all day (sometimes on Tuesday they start), while I am working my secular job. Then I get there and it's a whole different world. I love it there.....Can't wait for Wednesday again....