....did actually graduate High School.

TYLER  /  ELAINE  /  EBY  /  MO-GAN  /  ALEX  /  MARK  /  KILLER  /  TREY  /  KEITH  /  TWIG  /  ANNA  /  BRIEN  /  TERESA  /  TERESA  /  MITCH  /  HAMPTON  /  PEYSON  /  SAM  /  BAILEY  /  J.BOGGS  /  ALYSSA  /  ERIN  /   

CHICKEN ALFREDO
GARLIC BREAD
TROPICAL FRUIT COCKTAIL
DESSERT
SWEET TEA/WATER

Whaaaaat? Chicken Alfredo?
Yeah, watch out. Getting upscale.

Not really. It's as easy as spaghetti, we just hadn't done it before. It turned out great.  We can make a lot of it fairly cheaply, too.

The youth group from Wrightsville Beach Methodist is going to come and do the meal next week. They had contacted us (more about that in a minute) about coming down one night to do it and we chose next week. It's Spring Break and we have a youth mission trip so several of our kids will be on that and it worked out.
Why Wrightsville Beach Methodist? Like everything else in the world, look for the connection.
Nearly every week in the list of names, you will see STEVE and BLAKE.  That's Blake Leger and his dad, Steve. Both are great guys. Blake's mom, Kelly, recently accepted the call to become the Youth Minister for Wrightsville Beach Methodist. Sadly for First Baptist, this means they now attend Wrightsville Beach Methodist. But Steve and Blake still come to help us and Steve still teaches the younger kids in CrossTraining on Wednesdays.
Kelly was looking for a mission project for her group and thought about what we do and....That's why and how.

The Setup
1. I changed out of my school pants into a pair of old khakis before we went up to start serving. I kept my button down on and left it untucked. Went upstairs and never thought twice about it.
2.  I had on an old pair of tennis shoes because I like wearing them.
3.  I had not shaved the previous Sunday morning so I was rocking about a week's worth of growth on my face.

 The story

When kids get picked up after the first stop at 8:30, I always try to walk over to the car and speak to their parent. Say hey, tell them thanks for letting 'em come to help and for driving downtown to get them. It also lets them know I know where their kid is and when they leave. 
This week one of the regulars brought a friend (Erin) and they were going to get picked up at 8:30 by Erin's mom.
So....it's 8:30 and I'm sitting with a couple of guys that are finishing up eating and I see a car pull up and park on Market Street in front of where we're serving. I ask Erin  Is that your ride? and she says Yes. I've never met her mom so I stand up to walk over and introduce myself and say the usual nice things. Erin is right behind me as I start over.
I walk towards the car, hands in my pocket, no rush.
I expect the passenger window to come down but the closer I get....no opening of the window. Then as I get within about 8 feet of the car ....I see the lock on the passenger door go DOWN!
I just started laughing. She thought I was one of the folks we were feeding!
And you know.....old khakis, old tennis shoes, long sleeve shirt untucked, hadn't shaved in a week....I couldn't blame her. 
And when I looked around, Erin was nowhere near me. She hadn't followed me over. She had gone back to speak to some friends. So I'm standing there alone.

 From her mom's perspective in the car, she sees street people eating supper and a raggedy looking dude in the middle of them stands up and walks towards her car and stands beside the passenger side.
She should've locked the door!

 I wave and she cracks the window and I say I'm Gary Harris blah blah blah glad erin could come blah blah blah. And I see her relax a little and I laughed and told her I didn't blame her for being cautious and she apologized and I told her No, she was right. She didn't know me so she had no reason to do anything other than what she did and we laughed about it.

So for those of you keeping score at home:
2 weeks ago I pick up a hitchhiker and don't get identified as a "church person".
This week someone thinks I'm a homeless person.
 Stay tuned.
I wonder what it will be this week.
I'll probably have to convince someone that Yes, I.....