A peek behind the curtain........

We say we start at 6:00 on Tuesdays but that's just when we tell people to show up. There are alot of things that happen before we "start at 6:00".

Usually Twig and I will talk on Tuesday about we could serve the following week. If we come to a conclusion, great. That's what we'll shoot for. Quite often, however, it comes down to this on Monday night:
"What do you want to do tomorrow night?
" I don't know. What're you thinkin'?"
"It don't matter to me."

Sometimes we say"You know, we haven't had XXXXXX in awhile".

Or "You know, they always love it when we make ZZZZZZZZZ".

And then comes the real determining factor-
"What've we got in the freezer?"

And sometimes we pick something based on who's going to be helping. If we know there won't be many folks coming to help or if a couple of the adults won't be there, we'll go with something simple. If we know there will be a bunch of youth, we'll pick something very hands-on that requires alot of prep work so they're involved from start to finish, or we'll pick something that requires lots of people behind the table actively involved in the serving process. Sometimes we'll get a call from someone who had a party and has a large amount of leftovers and we'll take it and add something to it . Usually we try to serve the same thing at both stops, but sometimes it works out so we have just enough of one thing for one stop and just enough of something else for the other and we go with that.

And sometimes we serve stuff cause we like it.
(Chicken and pastry. Mmmmm)

Anyway, at some point, Twig and I will divide up how we're going to get what we need for the meal. He'll get this,I'll get that,whatever. Depending on schedules and logistics, we figure out how we'll get things to the point that when folks show up at 6:00 to help, we're ready to go.

We get a very generous donation of sweets every week from Jesus Ministries. We also receive other things from them, as they have them in the warehouse- frozen meats ,canned goods, bread, etc. Kerry Taylor picks it up every week around one o'clock and brings it to the church for us. It is a huge help and he has been extremely faithful in helping with that. Even though no one on Tuesday night sees him, he's still a big part of what we do and we are very grateful for his dedication to doing it. Thanks, Mr. Taylor.

Because every week is different and the roster of help is fluid, there's no concrete routine but it usually breaks down like this :
1. People come and we try to put them to work as soon as they get there.
2. I usually make a run about 6:45 to our storage room under the LEC with a couple of kids to get our tables, plates, cups, napkins, coolers etc.
3. Twig gets stuff in the kitchen wrapped up.
4. Bryan Campbell takes the dishwasher sprayer out of my hand and says "I'll get all that" (and I let her).
5. Everybody pitches in and does whatever is needed.

We serve at 2 spots. The first one is in the courtyard out in front of the connector building. We try to get out there around 7:45 and there's usually a couple of folks out there waiting for us. We serve there until about 8:30 and then we pack up to go to our next spot. We pray before we leave to go- for our guests, for each other, for the next stop... whatever is on peoples hearts.

The next spot is the Mercy House, an overnight shelter for men. They check in between 6 and 7 p.m. and have to stay in until 6 a.m. They're allowed one break to go outside that lasts from 9 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. That's where we come in. We try to get there about 8:50 and get set up ready to go when they come out for their break. We also have guests who aren't staying in the Mercy House that come up for meals. Some are on the streets, some live nearby. We serve whoever comes and gets in line.

It's a rare night when we don't see at least 70 guests, total. 80 is our baseline number. We take at least 80 plates, at least 80, cups, etc.
For things like hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches,... we cook at least 160 - 2 per person.

The Mercy House stop is more hectic because we get a larger number all at one time wth a finite amount of time to eat. We try to keep it moving and get them through the line as fast as we can. We finish at 9:30 and once we're packed up we gather around the back of the truck and pray again. Then we head back to do whatever it is we need to wrap up- any last dishwashing, sweeping,freezing,etc. Then, me and whoever I can sucker into it, make a run to the LEC and put up the coolers and stuff.

And that's how I spend my favorite night of the week.

I have 2 mantras each week-1 for the kitchen and 1 for the street.
The kitchen mantra is "I'd rather have too much than tell somebody we don't have enough."
The street mantra is "I'd rather give it all out than take any back."

Somehow, God balances it all out.

g