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I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to the beauty and wonder that is the fall season. While I am not a huge fan of pumpkins and pumpkin-related products, the feeling of never turning on the air conditioner and a socially appropriate constant consumption of a hot coffee at any time of day are a few of my favorite things. With fall unofficially here, images of Thanksgiving, pre-Thanksgiving, and, most importantly, post-Thanksgiving start popping into my head.
In many of my writings, I have discussed my love of feeding people. I am so proud of the meal program we have put together with the help of so many of you. One of the goals of this program is to be able to invite people to just the meal portion of Programming Night. To be able to remove the complications, misinformation, and individual negative history with "The Church" and to simply share a meal with someone is, in my opinion and reflected in scripture, a human necessity.
Last week, with a long day ahead of me, I took a break from work and took my wife out to lunch. Tired of our usual spots, we took the long and tortuous drive down to the Co-Op Market. While we were there, one of Los Alamos' lightly housed individuals was standing out on the sidewalk outside the store. My wife and I have had many conversations with this man; he has had a rough go of it in the past couple of weeks. I asked him if he was hungry, he said no. I asked him if I could get him some water. Reluctantly, he said yes.
Pro-Tip: Gallon jugs of water at the grocery store are a cheap and highly effective tool for handing out to people in need. There is lots of easy-to-carry water, and the jugs are very useful.
After we had a delicious lunch, I took out his water to him along with a few bucks Norma had at the bottom of her purse. While we were catching up with him, I took out my business card and invited him to dinner, not to church or Programming Night, just dinner. Will he ever come? Only God knows. But that is for God to stress about and not me. I am called to help create a welcoming environment, extend kindness and love without expecting anything in return, and, when the time makes itself known, tell people why I do those things.
If you have not already, please consider contributing to our meal program by providing a dish once every three weeks. This program has the potential to make a huge impact in the community and is a key reason for our Programming Night's success.
Blessings,
Phillip
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