We have partnered with First Baptist Church in Willimantic (667 Main St, Willimantic, CT) to serve meals to people with great needs. We meet from 3:00 – 6:30 pm to feed folks every First Sunday and Third Wednesday. We bring people a meal, a Gospel message, and our love for them on behalf of the Lord Jesus. Interested in bringing a testimony of what the Lord is doing in your life to encourage those who attend the meals? Contact Guy Grube.
The June First Sunday Meal – A Day of Surprises
Arrangements were made for Tom Hawkins to bring Kirstin’s cake and the food containers to the Willimantic because Bruce Barlow was away. SURPRISE, Bruce got back early, everything was emptied from Tom’s car, but there were no plates and take-home containers. Kathleen Perry purchased them from BJ’s, crisis averted. Lindsay Moore played guitar for the guests and sang to fill in the time. As she read the words of the song, she turned it into a powerful testimony, NO SURPRISE.
I introduced Pastor Mike as my pastor, whose Blog I post to the First Baptist Facebook page each day. I know of several who read his blog each day, but they were not in this audience. He introduced his testimony by sharing that he graduated from the Naval Academy, flew helicopters in the Navy, and worked in the aerospace industry. But those life accomplishments failed to satisfy Mike. It wasn’t until he and his wife Lyn attended a Marriage Encounter weekend in 1992 that he found the satisfaction he sought. God changed Mike’s heart that weekend when he heard the story of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana in Galilee. Jesus turned water into wine at that ancient wedding. Mike asked Jesus to change his heart and indeed the very course of his life – and Jesus did! Mike (and Lyn too) was born again that day, and life suddenly had satisfying purpose, Joy, and Love. NO SURPRISE. Pastor Mike is so skilled at connecting personal experiences and scripture.
Evan Perry prepared his popular chicken, potato, and vegetable dinner. Lindsay was on the buffet line, and Pastor Mike served gravy. We only served 65 meals compared with the 100 on Third Wednesday, but each take-home was packed with enough for 2 or 3 meals. NO SURPRISE. Everyone left at 7:00, but the sinks were backed up, with the plumber coming on Monday. I suggested meal coordinator David Cruz drain the sinks before he left. I later learned Bruce stayed with him until 7:30, NO SURPRISE. The Lord had revealed Bruce’s true character. When we got home, I discovered the plates and take-home containers right where I had left them. NO SURPRISE.
June Third Wednesday Meal – Contrast
The Third Wednesday meal was a night of contrast, demonstrating how the Lord continues to watch over the Community Suppers. The team had several members absent due to various reasons, so our grandson Collin helped the meal team prepare the meal. His youthful energy complemented Linda and Mary’s years of experience preparing meals. Preparing meals in large quantities was a new culinary experience for him.
Casey shared how she had turned from a life of addiction and found Jesus and salvation. Several in the audience had been on similar journeys. Band member Linda spontaneously shared her equally difficult life journey. I visited with many guests. Jose was glad he had a job requiring hard labor. He had accepted Jesus as his savior 30 years before, and we enjoyed a sweet time of praying together. In contrast, a UConn freshman was there for the first time.
Seventy-six meals were served, most in take-out containers. The full meal of meat, potatoes, and vegetables, and homemade dessert served by our church was in contrast to the sandwiches served the day before and those that were scheduled to be served the following day. It was not difficult to get guests to bring home extra take-home meals for the day after. The evening went well, and everything was cleaned and packed up, and we were on our way by 7:00 pm.
