A thanksgiving update.

We are going to pick up the last bit of supplies for the Thanksgiving Outreach over the next few days. We have been both stunned and humbled by the outpouring of help we have received. From people we don't know volunteering to cook turkeys for us, to businesses not on our radar donating far beyond our expectations, to needed items appearing out of nowhere - it's been incredible.

My favorite story of how God has provided through all of this: I was at work one day, and there was a fussy toddler at another table. I stopped, played with him for a minute or two, and then went back to check on my tables. I apologized to a man in my section, explaining that there was a fussy little boy and that my wife and i had worked with that age group at church. He said, "So, i take it you're my brother in Christ?"

I talked to the man for a few minutes, I told him what we were doing on Thanksgiving, and he offered to make a few phone calls for us. (If you don't know yet what we're doing on Thanksgiving, read the post below this one.) We exchanged business cards, and went on our respective ways.

I got a phone call from him the next day, telling me he had called Lewis Bakeries for us, and that they would get in touch with us. I e-mailed thanking him, and he e-mailed me back, saying that he and his wife wanted to help. We told him our biggest need was canned sodas.

He and his wife bought us 12 cases of soda. Oh, and Lewis Bakeries called back, and they donated 300 dinner rolls.

Now, for the kicker. That was the second time I had stopped to play with the child. The first time, he wasn't fussy - I was. I stopped to play with him because it would cheer me up - because there was a man "camping" at my big table doing paperwork. The same man who eventually bought us 250 cans of soda.

God saw my frustration over something i should not have even been frustrated over, a child refusing to eat, and a man doing paperwork - and he managed to make all of that into an amazing blessing. As well as a much needed dose of humility.

It's a lesson I will need to learn again in my life. Somehow, I'm OK with that.

Thanksgiving Outreach

This is the e-mail from my wife that started it all.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” Matthew 25:35-36


Viq and I have a passion for our neighborhood, and the surrounding neighborhoods. We live on Michigan Street, between First and Fulton Avenues. When trying to decide what to do for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to think out of the box and change our “tradition.” We would like to reach out to our neighborhood and provide a hot, home-cooked meal to those who wouldn’t ordinarily receive one.

We live in a very low-income area, and a lot of the people in this neighborhood don’t have family to spend the holiday with. We plan to serve a free meal to our area at Fulton Park on Thanksgiving Day. We will also be taking food to Fire House No. 3, which is directly across the street from our house. We realize this is a huge undertaking, and have decided we need to ask for help.

Below is a list of things we think we will need. In order to make it happen, we will need the food between Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday at 10:00 a.m. We plan to begin serving at 11:30 a.m. We will also deliver meals in our neighborhood for those who are homebound. We are wondering if you might be able to bring a prepared dish for us to serve. In addition, there are some paper goods we will need to serve the food. If you would like to make a monetary donation instead, please let us know. Any leftover food will be donated to the Evansville Rescue Mission and the St Anthony’s Soup Kitchen. Any leftover monetary donations will be donated to the Evansville Christian Life Center. Also, if you would like to help us Wednesday night or Thursday morning with preparing or serving food, please let us know.

If you have something else planned, please don’t feel pressured to participate in this outreach. But, please pray that we may reach our neighborhood through this gift of a hot meal. Also, please pray that we may get a cooked turkey donated to our cause. (We have a small oven, not even big enough to cook a pizza in - and I’ve never cooked a turkey in my life!) Thanks for your time and consideration.

May God bless you richly.

Amy Thomasson promo@smellrecords.com

Menu
Meat
Turkey
Ham

Sides
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Sweet Potatoes
Dressing
Green Beans
Carrots
Corn
Cranberry

Dessert
Any

Breads
Dinner Rolls
Bread

Drinks
Cans of Soda

Miscellaneous
Divided Paper Plates
Plastic Wrap
Individually Wrapped Silverware and Napkin Packets
Coolers (for food storage)
Chafing Dishes and Sterno Fuel
Camping Stoves