What Abundance!
Last Wednesday, I met a woman here at church. She was on her way to a meeting in San Diego and stopped by with the express purpose of picking up the food we had collected for the Border Ministry that takes place just 80 miles to our south.
When we walked into the choir room, we were greeted by 2 big bins full of rice, beans, canned chicken, tuna and much more! There were several 25-pound bags of rice and beans and boxes with many cans inside. It was a sight, and I wish I’d thought to take a picture. But I suspect you can imagine it: two new, large, red trash cans overflowing with bags of rice and bags of beans with many more large grocery bags on the floor surrounding them.
I got one of the coffee carts from the kitchen so we could load up faster (and because carrying 25 pound bags around can get tiring!). She was stunned. She said a typical donation from a church is usually a few grocery bags worth of food. But this was delightfully unusual!
What abundance!
Today, I met a volunteer from San Clemente Military Family Outreach in the Sanctuary to show her what we collected for their emergency drive. She shared stories of the families they have been seeing. They are mostly young and can’t quite make ends meet. Many have children and receiving a package of extra diapers or applesauce pouches is such a gift to them.
She, too, was thrilled by the outpouring of generosity. However, she soon discovered they had another problem: not enough shelf space to store all these things! She made several trips to and from the Sanctuary to the SCMFO room. She took as much as they could store. And in reality, probably more than they can actually store because she sees the need in the eyes of the families they serve.
What abundance!
In August, our Mission Committee thought we’d try something different in November. Normally, our food collection on the first Sunday of the month supports Family Assistance Ministries (FAM). But the group felt that supporting the Border Ministry for a month would be good because they too have significant needs. And then we did an impromptu food drive for SCMFO because the government shutdown made it tight for so many.
Because of our donations, SCMFO does not have enough room to store all of the food we collected. And guess what? They suggested we support FAM because they have also seen a sharp increase in the number of people they serve. We know and love FAM, so we will send the items SCMFO cannot store to FAM.
In the end, this is the story of how the abundance of this congregation will support three different organizations with many, many pounds of food. You heard of the needs. You responded as you could with bags of rice or jars of peanut butter. And because of that generosity, people in need will have food.
Matthew 25:35: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat..."
We cannot fix everything in the world, but we can make a difference in our corner of the world: for those who are stuck at the border, those who serve in the military, and neighbors of ours. All of whom were hungry and all of whom you have fed.
What abundance!
Emily
P.S. I know it is impractical to have one, but I kind of wish we had a huge scale so we could have weighed the food because I do think it would have topped 1000 pounds in the end.
P.P.S. If you have food that you’ve picked up for SCMFO – bring it anyhow on Sunday. We’ll let them take another look next week and then pass it along to FAM. It’s all going to feed people who are hungry. If you'd prefer to support SCMFO directly, consider purchasing a gift card for $10-25 to Wal-Mart, Target, or a supermarket because those store very easily!
