A difference was made... in our lives too.

Simply stated, I love how God works.

Today 10 of us went to the Union Mission in Norfolk, Va to serve the homeless folks dinner. I really did not know what to expect before I went into it. But it was a good experience, something I definitely want to do again sometime.

The "team" of us that went in there worked so well together! My whole family was there, as well as Jean and Lou (god mothers), and then Leslie's friend Ashley (kinda like another little sister), Caitlin (my friend since... 1st grade!!), Jeff (a friend from church), and Amanda (my roomie- please see the blog from December 12th to learn more about her). We all got down there and really meshed together. Our first task was to prepare things in the kitchen. Everyone had their certain jobs and it went really well. While my mom cut the frozen solid cakes, Jeff and I put them on plates, Leslie put them on trays, Amanda carried them, Caitlin wrapped them. If Dr T would be reading this, I would have to say we were quite the scientifically run organization! It was great working with everyone for a good cause.

At 5pm the first group of people came to eat. There were about 150 men and a couple women, who are all staying at the Union Mission, most of them sleeping on the floor though. While we were finishing up the preparations, I was looking to see what everyone in our team was doing. Most of us were just hanging out, then I noticed Jeff was out there talking to people. It was great! Eventually I made it out from the kitchen to put crackers on the table. I am pretty shy when it comes up to walking up to people and just chatting, but God works in crazy ways! I was wearing my livestrong and marc broussard bracelet and one man came up to me and asked if I got them at Heaven and Earth. I said no, but it lead to me briefly talking to him about the Bible and Jesus (who he referred to as "some guy he heard alot about") I don't know if my quick little chat with him made any kind of difference or anything, but it was cool to just talk to him about how wonderful Jesus is. Funny how God used my bracelets to attract a man from across the room, to talk about the Bible. Way to go God, way to go.

The feeding frenzy started, we all divided up into random serving jobs and before we knew it, everyone was eating, and most of the food was gone. The first group of people are only given 30 minutes to get their food and eat it. Most of them were extremely grateful and friendly. It tore me up to see that some people were my age... well, atleast under 30. What could have happened in these people's lives that have caused them to rely on free, gross looking food three times a day? As Jeff said, it really makes you appreciate your college education. After shaking hands with some of those men, who were so excited to meet me and learn my name, I thought to myself, I wonder what his story is? I wonder if he knows Jesus? I wonder if he has a family, if so, where are they? One man asked me if I had a Merry Christmas, I answered yes! And asked him the same. As it was coming out of my mouth... I kind of hesitated... but it was already out there. I mean, he is homeless. Do you ask someone who has nothing, if they had a Merry Christmas? But that is when you remember, like it was stated in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas- "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!.... Maybe Christmas is a little bit more..." The man smiled at me and said, Yes, I had a wonderful Christmas! Thanks for asking! :)

We cleaned up the kitchen, swept around the tables, and set up for the second round of people. At 6pm, Union Mission workers came through the line. This time everything was mostly self serve. They were not as desperate for the food, yet they were. This group was alot more quiet. They had the assurance that there would be food, while for the first group it was a wild card as to whether or not there would be enough food to go around.

We cleaned up the kitchen one final time. We put away all the left over condiments. And then, I went to help Jean put away some of the extra food, which was almost a full tray of bean soup. (which looked disgusting, but these people didn't care. it was a warm meal, and thats all that mattered to them.) But she was pouring all that bean soup into the trash. Part of me really cannot understand that. I mean, the first group of people were waiting on the street before we arrived. They came in. They ate. And after 30 minutes they were rushed out without much time to sit and enjoy their food. It was no european style eating establishment... it was more like a McDonalds on crack or something! But my question is, is why couldnt we have given all that soup to someone? I am sure that there was someone staying with that ministry that could have gone for seconds, or even thirds of that nasty bean soup! Why throw it in the trash?! Oh well I guess. I won't take the critical approach tonight... I will just go with the flow.

So anyway, let me just leave you with a couple of last words. This was quite the experience that I should really sit down and ponder for a little while. I am sure that there is so much that could be learned from it. Mostly though, I am sure the moral of this story is to count your blessings and love God. He will not leave you high and dry. While those men had next to nothing, some were carrying all their belongings in a brown food lion bag, the ones who were open about following Christ had smiles on their faces and love in their hearts. The obvious did not seem to matter to them right then... where I live, what kind of car I drive, what kind of job my parents have... none of that mattered. What mattered was that we were friendly faces providing them with food, and a little hope, to get them through their tough times.

We went there to make a difference in the lives of a few homeless people, while in the end, maybe they were the ones who made the difference in our lives. Pray for those people who are living less than 15 minutes away from here, who do not have a home, and who are sleeping on the floors of the Union Mission tonight.