Have you or your family ever spent Thanksgiving Day serving at a soup kitchen to

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   Faith Reaperposted 10 years ago

   Have you or your family ever spent Thanksgiving Day serving at a soup kitchen to those ...
   
   Have you or your family ever spent Thanksgiving Day serving at a soup kitchen or other mission to help feed those less fortunate than you? 
   
   

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   mattmilamiiposted 10 years ago

   In addition to cooking and serving Five turkey's on Thanksgiving for the poor and homeless... I also served as the head cook in a men's recovery home. I prepared three meals a day, seven days a week, for almost two years. The facility house 50+ men, who struggled with drugs and alcohol... many of which were recently released from prison. I feed them all as well as any of the local street people who would stop by hungry. All the while I never received or asked for a penny. Having lived homeless myself for years, my concern for the less fortunate ranks high on my list of priorities.

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      Faith Reaperposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hello mattmilamii, God bless you for sharing your heart of love for the downtrodden.  You are a blessing to many I have no doubt.  I know you know firsthand what that feels like too.  Thank you for blessing me this day by sharing here and answering!

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   lambservantposted 10 years ago

   I did once and probably won't again at the same location. A few years ago I decided to go to the Tacoma (WA) Union Gospel Mission and serve on Thanksgiving or may have been Christmas. As everyone feels very benevolent on holidays there were so many volunteers that the people that were eating were getting irritated because every three seconds a volunteer came up to freshen their coffee etc. Finally, they sent a bunch of us home.
   
   I prefer to feed the hungry the other 363 days a year. Most people seem to only care on the holidays. They don't want anyone to not have somewhere to go on the holidays. That is very thoughtful, but the problem is the days after Thanksgiving and Christmas the people are just as hungry, lonely and in need. But those nice people from Christmas and Thanksgiving have abandoned them until next year.
   
   I don't want to sound harsh, because I know people who serve on holidays truly have good hearts. I suppose I am throwing out a wake up call to extend this kind of love to other times of the year as well.

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      Faith Reaperposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent point and one we should all think about seriously ... all year long, there are people who are hungry, needing clothing, thirsty and need to be visited in prison.  Thanks so much sweet sister for caring all year long.  God bless you.

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   cam8510posted 10 years ago

   Our community has a program known as Safe Harbor.  During the coldest months, the homeless are given food, a place to spend the evening playing games or talking and a place to sleep for the night.  I admit this wasn't for Thanksgiving as you asked in your question, but it gave me a different perspective on the homeless.  I spoke with people who had lived normal lives at one point, but found circumstances spinning downward out of control.  Before they knew it, they were on the streets.  It is a blessing to work with them and make their lives a little happier and less painful.

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      Faith Reaperposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi cam, thank you so much for answering.  Yes, I feel the same way and have a heart for serving the downtrodden or homeless too, no matter what time of year, for I know, all of us could very well be one paycheck away from being homeless ourselves!

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   JThomp42posted 10 years ago

   Yes. And what a wonderful feeling Faith. Giving of one's self to see those happy, tired, hungry, appreciative faces is worth more than any money in this world. In fact, I think helping others is such a wonderful feeling, it may be selfish because of the way it makes you feel to love others. If this is the case? I choose to be selfish.

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      Faith Reaperposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi dear JThomp, Thank you so much for answering!  Exactly, isn't it great how the Lord God worked all of that out, for those who serve to actually receive a blessing, maybe even more so than the ones they are serving : )

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely my dear friend!

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      Faith Reaperposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      God bless!

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      God bless you as well!!

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