Did you want your burger wet or well...
This picture is not us, but it looked like us last night. I carefully watched the weather yesterday afternoon and knew that rain was headed our way, big time. At 4:15 it was not raining, we(me and a small group of volunteers )decided we would start the picnic early as rain was on the way. We quickly loaded everything up, drove to the picnic site and started unloading....it began to sprinkle. By the time everything was unloaded and set up it began to rain. We were under a canopy of trees so it really wasn't too bad. We knew that this was an important week as it is the last of the month, not much food available right now. So we thought the rain would blow over quickly and we could serve the needed food. There were children already in line waiting for either a pork burger or a hotdog to get done. It began to rain harder, volunteers went to cars and retrieved umbrellas. The situation became worse as the harder in rained, the longer the line became. The long line was something we were used to, however, this time children and parents were asking for 4 or 5 sandwiches so they could take them home to their families. The serving table was getting wetter and wetter. One volunteer had a tarp in her car we got it and covered the table, trying to keep meat, buns and chips dry. Dee one of our main stay volunteers was working hard under the tarp as two of us tried to hold it up high enough for her to prepare the meals and keep the food and her dry(she was the only one on the serving line, usually there are 5 or 6). People came out with broken umbrellas, plastic trash bags, and even towels over their heads, many had nothing just stood in the pouring rain, drenched and shivering. People were patient as they waited at times up to 10 minutes for their food, as our pork burgers took a bit of time to cook. We were thanked over and over for serving in the rain. It seemed like the rain nor the line would ever let up. Finally, after an hour and 45 minutes the line disappeared along with 100 pork burgers, 60 hotdogs, 20 large bags of potato chips, 200 cups of chocolate pudding and 150 juice bottles. As we began to load up the rain stopped and the sun returned. The children began to fill the grounds, playing and jumping in the mudpuddles. We left wet and tired, yet sensing that we were used by God. Last night was a defining moment in my life as I am quite sure I would never wait in the pouring rain to get a free hotdog and a handful of chips.....but then again I have never really been hungry either. Thanks for the prayers. Special thanks to our "all wet" volunteers that went well beyond the call of duty. They were Gary and Dee Hostetler, Boyd and Dan Mozingo(all from McGrawsville UMC), Jim Williams from Grace UMC, Cindy Myers from St. Lukes UMC, and Pastor Mike Tarner from Russiaville UMC. Jeff 
This picture is not us, but it looked like us last night. I carefully watched the weather yesterday afternoon and knew that rain was headed our way, big time. At 4:15 it was not raining, we(me and a small group of volunteers )decided we would start the picnic early as rain was on the way. We quickly loaded everything up, drove to the picnic site and started unloading....it began to sprinkle. By the time everything was unloaded and set up it began to rain. We were under a canopy of trees so it really wasn't too bad. We knew that this was an important week as it is the last of the month, not much food available right now. So we thought the rain would blow over quickly and we could serve the needed food. There were children already in line waiting for either a pork burger or a hotdog to get done. It began to rain harder, volunteers went to cars and retrieved umbrellas. The situation became worse as the harder in rained, the longer the line became. The long line was something we were used to, however, this time children and parents were asking for 4 or 5 sandwiches so they could take them home to their families. The serving table was getting wetter and wetter. One volunteer had a tarp in her car we got it and covered the table, trying to keep meat, buns and chips dry. Dee one of our main stay volunteers was working hard under the tarp as two of us tried to hold it up high enough for her to prepare the meals and keep the food and her dry(she was the only one on the serving line, usually there are 5 or 6). People came out with broken umbrellas, plastic trash bags, and even towels over their heads, many had nothing just stood in the pouring rain, drenched and shivering. People were patient as they waited at times up to 10 minutes for their food, as our pork burgers took a bit of time to cook. We were thanked over and over for serving in the rain. It seemed like the rain nor the line would ever let up. Finally, after an hour and 45 minutes the line disappeared along with 100 pork burgers, 60 hotdogs, 20 large bags of potato chips, 200 cups of chocolate pudding and 150 juice bottles. As we began to load up the rain stopped and the sun returned. The children began to fill the grounds, playing and jumping in the mudpuddles. We left wet and tired, yet sensing that we were used by God. Last night was a defining moment in my life as I am quite sure I would never wait in the pouring rain to get a free hotdog and a handful of chips.....but then again I have never really been hungry either. Thanks for the prayers. Special thanks to our "all wet" volunteers that went well beyond the call of duty. They were Gary and Dee Hostetler, Boyd and Dan Mozingo(all from McGrawsville UMC), Jim Williams from Grace UMC, Cindy Myers from St. Lukes UMC, and Pastor Mike Tarner from Russiaville UMC. Jeff 
No comments:
Post a Comment