Rainy. Rainy. Rainy.
Saw it coming, too. The forecast was 100% rain, so we had a plan.
First stop was easy- eat inside. But the second stop is always trickier depending on what we're serving. This week we served meatball sandwiches and white potatoes, so once we started serving in the dining room, Brien started making "setups" - take-out trays with potatoes, dessert, and a open roll with cheese waiting for meatballs. we were going to need the take-out rays because the 2nd stop is always outside, raining or not.
having the setups ready made it very quick to put together right before we left.
CREEEEEEEECH! / ALEXANDRA / ALEXIS / MORGZILLA / BRIEN / TYLER / BOGGS / BLAKE / DON / CHARLES / STEVE / TWIG / WAYNE / JAMIE / .......came out in the rain and cold to make sure things got done for people who needed it.
Don called me about 6:30 and said he'd bring a pop up gazebo tent, so we slapped that beside the porch at the Mercy House and extended our usable space.
MEATBALL SUBS
BOILED WHITE POTATOES
DESSERT
SWEET TEA / COFFEE
Believe it or not, this week was the first time ever that we offered coffee. sodas, hot, chocolate, tea, gatorade, ....but never coffee. I have never drank one single drop of coffee, so it's never on my mind, but we've never really had anyone clamor for it, either.
The reason we did it this week is because I saw a 3 lb can of it in our pantry and figured we needed to use it sometime, so why not now. Wayne Currie was in charge of making it, because he had more experience than I did (none). Lot of guys drank it, so we'll make it til we run out and see if they want us to keep on, at least while it's cold.
I noticed one of the guys we see every week at the Mercy House wasn't in line so I asked where he was and found out he was in the hospital. I went by and saw him the next day, and took him a run of WEB OF SPIDERMAN comic books to read, because he told me likes comic books. He should be getting discharged today. His medical needs are ongoing so we continue to pray for him.
We passed out a flyer for the New York mission trip we're planning for spring break. We're going to go for 6 days and volunteer with organizations that feed and assist the homeless in the New York area. We'll take 25 total, shooting for around 20 kids.
Started planning for the SUPER BOWL PARTY. We watch it in the youth room but last year we were close to capacity as far as seating comfortably. It's currently the only room downtown with cable so we're locked in there unless we can figure or work something out. We'll see. If nothing changes, we'll still be fine.
We cooked an 80 lb hog last year. Gonna get a 110 lb one this time. We had 50 guys show up and figure we'll have more this year. The first year we did it we had 20 and have added about 10 every year.
Went skiing this past weekend with the youth group. We went to Canaan Valley, W VA. It was 0 degrees when we got there and -14 degrees when we left. Skiing was great, though.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
......"UPER BOWL PART" in the middle.
BAKED SPAGHETTI w/MEATBALLS
ROLLS
DESSERT
HOT CHOCOLATE / WATER
SAVANNA / ASHLEY / WAYNE / TWIG / MASON / LACE / COLE / ELAINE / BLAKE / TYLER / MARK / JOHANNA / BRIANNA / BRIEN / ANNA / CHUCK / CHARLES / KELLY / DON / are the folks who gave time and effort to help our friends tonight.
Not a huge crowd helping tonight and that's OK. There was a time when this many would have been a huge number. Felt small and intimate tonight.
Alan and Mary Dyar bought 70 toboggans for us to pass out tonight. That was very kind and needed.
Tonight was Blake Leger's 16th birthday. I've had kids call and say I won't be there tonight. It's my birthday and I've got something planned.....which is cool. That's a good thing. I am all for that. I don't expect them to pass that up to come wash dishes with me. But.....one of the great things about Blake (and there are a lot), is that he wanted to do what he always does on Tuesdays, and that's come help others. Matter of fact, he would've been upset if his parents had planned something that kept him away. And one of the great things about his parents is they didn't.
We ate inside again at the first stop. When we were making the decision we felt it wasn't that cold to us, but then realized we hadn't been out in it all day. To someone who'd been outside for awhile, a simple thing such as eating indoors might be something to look forward to.
We've pretty much made the decision when we're inside now, to do away with them standing in line to get their food. We get them seated and then we fix their plates and bring them to their table. Same with their drinks and dessert. That lets them relax and take a load off their feet for a longer time. I think that's better but I'm not sure. There's a nice interaction that happens on both sides of the table when we serve cafeteria style. But we're not inside all year so .....it works in there.
Saw more women tonight than we usually do. That bothered me. It's harder to think about, I guess, that women are that situation. I'm glad we could help. Just wish we didn't have to.
Random things from the past
Here's a hint: It starts with an "S", ends with a "Y", and has........
ROLLS
DESSERT
HOT CHOCOLATE / WATER
SAVANNA / ASHLEY / WAYNE / TWIG / MASON / LACE / COLE / ELAINE / BLAKE / TYLER / MARK / JOHANNA / BRIANNA / BRIEN / ANNA / CHUCK / CHARLES / KELLY / DON / are the folks who gave time and effort to help our friends tonight.
Not a huge crowd helping tonight and that's OK. There was a time when this many would have been a huge number. Felt small and intimate tonight.
Alan and Mary Dyar bought 70 toboggans for us to pass out tonight. That was very kind and needed.
Tonight was Blake Leger's 16th birthday. I've had kids call and say I won't be there tonight. It's my birthday and I've got something planned.....which is cool. That's a good thing. I am all for that. I don't expect them to pass that up to come wash dishes with me. But.....one of the great things about Blake (and there are a lot), is that he wanted to do what he always does on Tuesdays, and that's come help others. Matter of fact, he would've been upset if his parents had planned something that kept him away. And one of the great things about his parents is they didn't.
We ate inside again at the first stop. When we were making the decision we felt it wasn't that cold to us, but then realized we hadn't been out in it all day. To someone who'd been outside for awhile, a simple thing such as eating indoors might be something to look forward to.
We've pretty much made the decision when we're inside now, to do away with them standing in line to get their food. We get them seated and then we fix their plates and bring them to their table. Same with their drinks and dessert. That lets them relax and take a load off their feet for a longer time. I think that's better but I'm not sure. There's a nice interaction that happens on both sides of the table when we serve cafeteria style. But we're not inside all year so .....it works in there.
Saw more women tonight than we usually do. That bothered me. It's harder to think about, I guess, that women are that situation. I'm glad we could help. Just wish we didn't have to.
Random things from the past
- An old skinny guy named Otis ate 9 hot dogs one night
- Saw a guy get tasered
- A guy got in a car and T-boned another guy's car in front of the Mercy House
- We got low on food and I sent Brien to the Burger King drive thru to get 40 Whopper Jr.'s (a.k.a. a "Stoner Run")
- A guy once asked Gary McKnight for his pants (You need to ask Gary McKnight why)
Here's a hint: It starts with an "S", ends with a "Y", and has........
Thursday, January 13, 2011
...I wasn't the one who was going to school the next day with hair looking like that.
We've been serving, I've just been lazy about blogging.
And not really lazy about it, just poor at setting aside time for it. I used to do it on Tuesday nights after we finished, which was good for consistency but tough for making it to the gym the next morning before school. Once I started doing it the next day, it became easier for things to come up and push it back. I don't know about you, but the further away from something I get, the less likely it is I get back to it. My intent is to improve on my promptness this year.
The meals for Christmas and New Years went well. Lots of help, lots to pass out. College kids were around and came back to help. e got moved into the pantry beside the kitchen, so we could finally bring our stuff up out of the Dungeon (the storage room under the Jail). The stand alone pantry had an internal shelf collapse and David Allegood grabbed some guys and repaired it on the spot. Much better now.
The past 2 months have probably been the longest string of really cold Tuesdays we've had. The low temps affect where we serve, how we serve and what we serve. We've been passing out blankets, clothes and accessories every week.
COLLEEN / CECIL / SETH / ERICA / MILLER / BRIANNA / DAVID / SAMMY / ELAINE / SAM / HAMPTON / ELANA / JENNA / DAVID / CHUCK / CHARLES / SHAWNA / TERESA / ANNA / TWIG / WAYNE / DON / TYLER / BLAKE / STEVE / TOM / did a great job of spreading themselves out in the dining hall and interacting with our guests.
CHILI w/Texas Pete, cheese, sour cream. vinegar, and jalapenoes for toppings.
JALAPENO CORNBREAD
DESSERT
HOT CHOCOLATE
The jalapeno cornbread turned out sooooo good and was really easy. I like those kinds of things.
NOT SO QUICK STORY
We're in the dining hall and winding down and Don Vigus says "Gary, this guy says he needs a haircut!"
And the guy does. So I told him I'd bring my clippers next week and cut his hair.
The only problem is I don't really cut hair.......I buzz heads.
Big difference.
Big. Honkin'. Difference.
I don't scissor cut, I ask you what # guard you want and I just plow through. One length every where.
And I can do that like a champ. This guy, however, did not strike me as someone who was going to want a buzzcut
So I was thinking about this the next day while I was getting ready for school. I figured if I cut one guys hair, other guys would want theirs cut, too. What about them?
When I have hair to cut, I go to a pretty nice Barber named Jeff. I wondered if he would cut our friends hair for a discount, like $10 bucks a head. Then I was wondering how to get them there and when and blah, blah, blah.... and I had an idea.
There are a couple of places in town that have cosmetology courses. Students need hours and practice. If I could get several of them to volunteer one afternoon, maybe I could knock out a bunch of free haircuts at one time.
In the process of brainstorming all this, it dawned on me that I hadn't consulted God about it.
I have ideas and sometimes, in addition to being dumb and goofy, they aren't always part of what God might want me to be doing. I figured I might want to slow down and pray about this one. And while it might be true God could have had something to do with planting the idea in my head, I still figured it best to pray. So I did and basically left it at "If this is something worthwhile and you want me to do, let me know. Somehow, someway today, show me that this is okay."
I leave out for school and roll through the day. It crosses my mind at different parts of the day but I'm not dwelling on it or looking for signs in everything that happens. In terms of signs, omens and otherwise deep meanings, it's actually an uneventful day.
Until.......
10:30 p.m. my phone rings. It's a friend of mine, the mom of one of the kids in Youth Group.
She says You're not asleep, are you?
No.
Are you getting ready to go to bed?
No, I'm a late-nighter.
We have a crisis here at the house.
When the house has a teenage son in it, the word crisis can cover a lot of ground. I start racing through things in my head, and then she continues.
I was cutting TEENAGE SON's hair and I've messed up and can't fix it. He said call you. Can you come over and fix it or just buzz it. He said you would know what to do.
Sure. Be there in 15 minutes.
It wasn't a lightning bolt epiphany.
I didn't yell "There's what I was looking for!".
At first I just found it funny and was amused at the situation........but on the way over there it started coming to me that on a day I had prayed for verification to try and organize something to get people's hair cut (even though I'm no barber), someone was calling me to come cut their hair (even though I'm no barber)!
And it got me thinking Did I miss any subtle signs somewhere else along the way today? Am I so slow, he had to bring me out in freezing temperatures at 11 0'clock at night to cut someone's hair for me to catch his drift?
My best guess on that is, Yeah,... probably.
So I go over and we have a good laugh about the situation. We make the call to buzz it and I tell them everything about the idea and the prayer and seeing them calling as the way God was telling me it was OK to do it.
As far as it being a crisis, i don't know if I would have used that word, but then again, I wasn't the one who messed it up and......
And not really lazy about it, just poor at setting aside time for it. I used to do it on Tuesday nights after we finished, which was good for consistency but tough for making it to the gym the next morning before school. Once I started doing it the next day, it became easier for things to come up and push it back. I don't know about you, but the further away from something I get, the less likely it is I get back to it. My intent is to improve on my promptness this year.
The meals for Christmas and New Years went well. Lots of help, lots to pass out. College kids were around and came back to help. e got moved into the pantry beside the kitchen, so we could finally bring our stuff up out of the Dungeon (the storage room under the Jail). The stand alone pantry had an internal shelf collapse and David Allegood grabbed some guys and repaired it on the spot. Much better now.
The past 2 months have probably been the longest string of really cold Tuesdays we've had. The low temps affect where we serve, how we serve and what we serve. We've been passing out blankets, clothes and accessories every week.
COLLEEN / CECIL / SETH / ERICA / MILLER / BRIANNA / DAVID / SAMMY / ELAINE / SAM / HAMPTON / ELANA / JENNA / DAVID / CHUCK / CHARLES / SHAWNA / TERESA / ANNA / TWIG / WAYNE / DON / TYLER / BLAKE / STEVE / TOM / did a great job of spreading themselves out in the dining hall and interacting with our guests.
CHILI w/Texas Pete, cheese, sour cream. vinegar, and jalapenoes for toppings.
JALAPENO CORNBREAD
DESSERT
HOT CHOCOLATE
The jalapeno cornbread turned out sooooo good and was really easy. I like those kinds of things.
NOT SO QUICK STORY
We're in the dining hall and winding down and Don Vigus says "Gary, this guy says he needs a haircut!"
And the guy does. So I told him I'd bring my clippers next week and cut his hair.
The only problem is I don't really cut hair.......I buzz heads.
Big difference.
Big. Honkin'. Difference.
I don't scissor cut, I ask you what # guard you want and I just plow through. One length every where.
And I can do that like a champ. This guy, however, did not strike me as someone who was going to want a buzzcut
So I was thinking about this the next day while I was getting ready for school. I figured if I cut one guys hair, other guys would want theirs cut, too. What about them?
When I have hair to cut, I go to a pretty nice Barber named Jeff. I wondered if he would cut our friends hair for a discount, like $10 bucks a head. Then I was wondering how to get them there and when and blah, blah, blah.... and I had an idea.
There are a couple of places in town that have cosmetology courses. Students need hours and practice. If I could get several of them to volunteer one afternoon, maybe I could knock out a bunch of free haircuts at one time.
In the process of brainstorming all this, it dawned on me that I hadn't consulted God about it.
I have ideas and sometimes, in addition to being dumb and goofy, they aren't always part of what God might want me to be doing. I figured I might want to slow down and pray about this one. And while it might be true God could have had something to do with planting the idea in my head, I still figured it best to pray. So I did and basically left it at "If this is something worthwhile and you want me to do, let me know. Somehow, someway today, show me that this is okay."
I leave out for school and roll through the day. It crosses my mind at different parts of the day but I'm not dwelling on it or looking for signs in everything that happens. In terms of signs, omens and otherwise deep meanings, it's actually an uneventful day.
Until.......
10:30 p.m. my phone rings. It's a friend of mine, the mom of one of the kids in Youth Group.
She says You're not asleep, are you?
No.
Are you getting ready to go to bed?
No, I'm a late-nighter.
We have a crisis here at the house.
When the house has a teenage son in it, the word crisis can cover a lot of ground. I start racing through things in my head, and then she continues.
I was cutting TEENAGE SON's hair and I've messed up and can't fix it. He said call you. Can you come over and fix it or just buzz it. He said you would know what to do.
Sure. Be there in 15 minutes.
It wasn't a lightning bolt epiphany.
I didn't yell "There's what I was looking for!".
At first I just found it funny and was amused at the situation........but on the way over there it started coming to me that on a day I had prayed for verification to try and organize something to get people's hair cut (even though I'm no barber), someone was calling me to come cut their hair (even though I'm no barber)!
And it got me thinking Did I miss any subtle signs somewhere else along the way today? Am I so slow, he had to bring me out in freezing temperatures at 11 0'clock at night to cut someone's hair for me to catch his drift?
My best guess on that is, Yeah,... probably.
So I go over and we have a good laugh about the situation. We make the call to buzz it and I tell them everything about the idea and the prayer and seeing them calling as the way God was telling me it was OK to do it.
As far as it being a crisis, i don't know if I would have used that word, but then again, I wasn't the one who messed it up and......
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