We will be meeting on Thursday, August 12 6:00 p.m. at Ms Cookie's Cookin' 1010 S Kentucky Avenue (the old Evans Cafe) If you are able to make it to the meeting, Ms. Cookie takes cash only, and dinners are $8 a plate.
The purpose of this meeting is to start putting together teams for the 2010 Thanksgiving Outreach. If you aren't able to attend, but would like to be part of the Outreach, please let me know in what area you are interested in serving.
We need help with the following:
securing donations (food and monetary)
organizing volunteers
getting the word out to the community
designing flyers and promotional materials
The week of the Outreach, we will need help prepping food, and we will need help all day on 11/25 prepping, serving, and cleaning up.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - An Exciting Announcement
I'm not going to bore everyone with the details, but I have an exciting announcement.
While patronizing a local restaurant last night for the first time, we started talking about our outreaches. I've been praying for a few weeks "Lord, do you want our outreaches to cross the money savin' bridge?" (yes, I've seriously said "money savin' bridge" to the Creator of the universe). Well, I think He answered that question last night. Mrs. Cookie owns the old Evans Cafe on Kentucky and Washington (right across from our beloved Ray Ray's). She asked us what we were doing this year for Thanksgiving. I explained that our biggest challenge is finding somewhere that has shelter, power, and water. She got a look in her eyes, and-she is letting us use her restaurant for our Thanksgiving Outreach this year! We don't have to worry about shelter from the weather, using sternos to keep food warm, not having water or a restroom. We can invite these people in, give them a table to sit at and serve them...literally serve them. I have been praying for a building since last November. God has provided, and exceeded my expectations! I just wanted a building...I never expected a restaurant! We will have a full kitchen at our disposal.
I just can't tell you how excited I am about this. I literally can't sleep. All last night I kept thinking I was dreaming. There is something so surreal about this. Last year, we planned the Outreach in 3 weeks. Now, we've got way more time, and a place to have it! I was praying about this last night, and I am planning on cooking for 500 people. I know that seems crazy, but...we did 342 in June and didn't even realize it. Having a kitchen at our disposal makes it even more possible.
So, please pray about this and see if the Lord is calling you to volunteer or donate. I don't want Mrs. Cookie to have to go to any expense at all. I don't know the specifics yet, of course, but we're gonna need a LOT of food, and a LOT of help!
This is just so awesome. I wish I could explain how I'm feeling right now! Thanks to all of you for supporting us!
While patronizing a local restaurant last night for the first time, we started talking about our outreaches. I've been praying for a few weeks "Lord, do you want our outreaches to cross the money savin' bridge?" (yes, I've seriously said "money savin' bridge" to the Creator of the universe). Well, I think He answered that question last night. Mrs. Cookie owns the old Evans Cafe on Kentucky and Washington (right across from our beloved Ray Ray's). She asked us what we were doing this year for Thanksgiving. I explained that our biggest challenge is finding somewhere that has shelter, power, and water. She got a look in her eyes, and-she is letting us use her restaurant for our Thanksgiving Outreach this year! We don't have to worry about shelter from the weather, using sternos to keep food warm, not having water or a restroom. We can invite these people in, give them a table to sit at and serve them...literally serve them. I have been praying for a building since last November. God has provided, and exceeded my expectations! I just wanted a building...I never expected a restaurant! We will have a full kitchen at our disposal.
I just can't tell you how excited I am about this. I literally can't sleep. All last night I kept thinking I was dreaming. There is something so surreal about this. Last year, we planned the Outreach in 3 weeks. Now, we've got way more time, and a place to have it! I was praying about this last night, and I am planning on cooking for 500 people. I know that seems crazy, but...we did 342 in June and didn't even realize it. Having a kitchen at our disposal makes it even more possible.
So, please pray about this and see if the Lord is calling you to volunteer or donate. I don't want Mrs. Cookie to have to go to any expense at all. I don't know the specifics yet, of course, but we're gonna need a LOT of food, and a LOT of help!
This is just so awesome. I wish I could explain how I'm feeling right now! Thanks to all of you for supporting us!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
July 2010 Nashville Flood Relief Trip
We will be taking another team to Nashville on July 31st for Flood Relief, partnering with Hands On Nashville. Please let me know if you're interested. The need is still great, as most people have forgotten about the flood.
You can get more information at http://betheltemple.org/content.asp?article=635
You can get more information at http://betheltemple.org/content.asp?article=635
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
July 2010 Henderson Ball Field Outreach
Check out this awesome opportunity to serve. We've got 40+ slots we need to fill. Please let me know if you're interested. It is a great chance to show the Love of Christ!
http://www.onelifenetwork.in/henderson/2010/07/heres-an-awesome-chance-to-serve-others/
http://www.onelifenetwork.in/henderson/2010/07/heres-an-awesome-chance-to-serve-others/
Saturday, July 3, 2010
2010 Garvin Park Outreach - $300
Many of you have heard me refer to the "insurance policy" issue, but probably have no idea what that's all about. The original idea for the Garvin Park Outreach was "Bands & BBQ" - exactly what it sounds like. We were going to have bands on the stage, and serve BBQ. It was a disaster from the very beginning. We couldn't find bands. We had issues getting the BBQ smokers. We didn't have many volunteers. And then, the insurance policy. In order to use the stage, we had to fill out an application. If we were to have more than 300 people, we had to have an insurance policy - $5 million aggregate. I was told by a friend of our that it would be around $300. So, I worked my tail off to raise $300. There was an insurance agent (a friend of a friend) who was supposed to get the policy for us - we never heard from him. So, we started searching ourselves After about a week, I finally found one - in Australia, for $3000. That was obviously not going to happen. We tried talking to the Parks Department to see if they would lower the requirement, and they wouldn't. We noticed on the application that it said 300 people at any one time, not the entire day. I tried to argue this point, and they wouldn't budge. We eventually decided to kill the Bands & BBQ idea and just feed people. We really didn't want to, but it just seemed like our only option at that point. (and it worked out beautifully!)
So, we still had this magic number of $300, plus $51 left from Thanksgiving. One of our friends got the idea to pass out Need-It-Keep-It envelopes. He wanted to donate as much money as we had already raised ($300) to this cause. So, he made 300 envelopes with $1 each in them. A dear family friend also sent us 2 $10 Sonic Gift Cards to help the needy. Since there aren't any Sonic restaurants close to the area, I just stuck them in 2 of the envelopes, hoping it would bless someone, or they could bless someone with it. If you aren't familiar with this concept, please check out needitkeepit.org I LOVE the idea!
On Wednesday we made arrangements to meet Brandon Barnard for the first time. We sat down and counted how much we had left. $356. So, we kept $56 to use for the food pantries and gave the rest to Brandon. As we were standing there with him, I realized that we gave him $300. The same amount of the insurance policy. The same amount that went in the envelopes. The same amount that I was SO upset about. I just didn't know how we'd come up with that much money, and then when we changed the whole concept, I was SO upset about the fact that I had raised it for an un-needed insurance policy. God seriously slapped me across the face at that very moment...I really believe that he had this $300 planned all along for THIS purpose, not for the insurance policy. At that very moment, standing outside a firestation with a man who had just buried his 74 day old daughter, I realized that all the "disaster" we had went through was worth it. I always say when we're going through tough times that He has a plan for it, we just don't see it yet. It takes a while, but we always see how He worked in the situation.
So, we still had this magic number of $300, plus $51 left from Thanksgiving. One of our friends got the idea to pass out Need-It-Keep-It envelopes. He wanted to donate as much money as we had already raised ($300) to this cause. So, he made 300 envelopes with $1 each in them. A dear family friend also sent us 2 $10 Sonic Gift Cards to help the needy. Since there aren't any Sonic restaurants close to the area, I just stuck them in 2 of the envelopes, hoping it would bless someone, or they could bless someone with it. If you aren't familiar with this concept, please check out needitkeepit.org I LOVE the idea!
On Wednesday we made arrangements to meet Brandon Barnard for the first time. We sat down and counted how much we had left. $356. So, we kept $56 to use for the food pantries and gave the rest to Brandon. As we were standing there with him, I realized that we gave him $300. The same amount of the insurance policy. The same amount that went in the envelopes. The same amount that I was SO upset about. I just didn't know how we'd come up with that much money, and then when we changed the whole concept, I was SO upset about the fact that I had raised it for an un-needed insurance policy. God seriously slapped me across the face at that very moment...I really believe that he had this $300 planned all along for THIS purpose, not for the insurance policy. At that very moment, standing outside a firestation with a man who had just buried his 74 day old daughter, I realized that all the "disaster" we had went through was worth it. I always say when we're going through tough times that He has a plan for it, we just don't see it yet. It takes a while, but we always see how He worked in the situation.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Thanks?
thank
–verb 1. to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to
grat·i·tude
–noun the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful
thank·ful
-Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful a benefit; grateful.
hum·ble
–adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest
2. a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly
4. respectful
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size
None of these words really work for me. I don't think there is a word to describe what I want to say to everyone who was a part of the Garvin Park Outreach. So, I'm going to leave it at "thanks", which doesn't even begin to do it justice.
For those of you that weren't with us last weekend, I'd like to give a recap of what happened.
Friday night, we were supposed to have 9 people to help dish out 400 servings of potato salad and cole slaw, count all of the desserts and sodas, and get everything ready for Saturday. We had 4, and we didn't have nearly enough potato salad and cole slaw. As you probably know, I had already been feeling like maybe this Outreach wasn't supposed to happen, and that just made it worse. So, we got more salads and kept on dishing until the last little piece of cabbage was scraped from the container. There wasn't time to count stuff, so I was just taking a leap of faith that planning was correct and we had enough.
Saturday morning, our alarm went off - 90 minutes late. Fantastic. We were supposed to meet at 7:30 to load stuff up, and then be at the park at 8:00. Of course we were late, but so were the people we were supposed to meet. I got to the park with a truckful of food, and we had 2 volunteers. Two!!! I was terrified, but at that point, there was no turning back. We finished unloading the truck as more volunteers started showing up. And then more, and more. One of our volunteers, Spring Time, said to a man who had been helping us unload "Bye Gary. Are you coming back to eat later?" Up until this point, we all thought he was one of her friends. Oh no - she found him sleeping on one of the picnic tables when she got there, and he helped us unload food that was meant for him (see definition for "humble" above) Very soon after that, she went out in the park to distribute flyers. She came back with a man named Ken. Remember that name - it will be very important later. Then a man with riding a bike with no shirt showed up. He and Ken threw on gloves and helped us wipe down tables and organize food. Food that was meant for them. We got done much earlier than expected, so I told all of the volunteers to sit and rest, spend some time in prayer, and prepare our hearts for what was going to happen that day. We read and discussed Matthew 25, our reason for doing this. I read some excerpts from Eats with Sinners, a book on well, eating with sinners. We listened to Tear Down the Walls by Hillsong United. And then, we prayed. A big group of us, while homeless men were sitting on the tables just behind us. About halfway through, we hear a voice that none of us recognized. He started praying to Yahweh and Jesuwah. I honestly don't remember what he said, but I remember goosebumps and not wanting to pray after him! When we were finished, I looked up and realized it was the guy on the bike. His name is Ronnie. That name will become important too. Somewhere in the moments to come, more people started showing up, and we realized we didn't have as much food as we thought. We started making sandwiches, and realized we didn't have enough bread. We started icing down salads, and realized we didn't have enough ice. It was terrifying at best. We actually left twice to go get more food and drinks, and STILL ran out of food. Our best estimate is 342 people were served. We had 350 forks to start out with, and left with 8. Eight!! We planned on feeding 200. Apparently God had planned on more.
So, the "important" names. First, Ronnie. Viq and I really felt called to give Ronnie some kind of job to do at our house. Now, that's weird for me, because I DON'T give money to homeless people, and I certainly don't tell them where I lived. But, we decided that we had some mulch that needed laid. Ronnie said he'd be over the next morning to work on it for us. He showed up on Sunday morning earlier than he had said, and worked his tail off. I was afraid to tell him where we lived, but decided to trust the Lord with the situation. He then came back to the house on Tuesday night while Viq was at work. I was seriously trembling. But, I went out on the front porch to see what he needed. Nothing. He just came over to tell me thank you for giving him the opportunity to earn a little cash.
Now, for Ken. Ken walks with a cane, has an eye patch, and you can tell he's much older than he should be. One of our volunteers, Misty, prayed with Ken for healing in his legs. And he prayed to give his life to the Lord. At that very moment, I realized that ALL the events leading up to this had been a challenge from God. He knows my heart, but He also knows my willingness to give up when things get hard. I'm so glad I didn't. Would Ken have been saved without the Outreach? Maybe. I don't know. But I'm SO grateful that the Lord used Misty at our Outreach to bring him into the Kingdom.
One of the greatest parts of the day was that we had SO many volunteers that I was able to walk around and talk to people, making sure they had enough to eat and drink, and sitting down listening to their stories. Sometimes, that's all these people want. I looked up 4 or 5 times and noticed there was literally not a place to sit. God SERIOUSLY showed up in that shelter house! Yes, we ran out of food at the end. I never expected that. We were able to make a small donation of potato salad and cole slaw to the Rescue Mission for their evening meal, but not as much as I had planned. There were a LOT of people that came over from the pool next door. Maybe they didn't fall into the target demographic "homeless and underprivileged", but they were hungry, and we were able to feed them. There were little kids in swim gear running around with Dorito-stained orange fingertips. It was awesome.
So, thanks guys. Thanks so much for being a part of this. You JUST don't understand - we couldn't have done it without each and everyone of you. I was going to make a list - a list of items and services people donated. But honestly, there was so much that I just can't remember every single thing.
Alexa Ridgeway
Ally Duncan
Amanda McDowell
Amber Hinton
Bill Merkel
Brandon & Jessica Barnard
Brighton Cornerston Healthcare
Brit Van Laeken
Candice Jenkins
Cathy Lockridge
Chance Schultz
Christy Johnson
Cindy Rose
Damon & Teresa Hancock
David & Sande Hancock
David Kapp
Drew Shockley
Evansville Department of Parks & Recreation
Evansville Print Specialists
Evansville Rescue Mission
Fraternal Order of Eagles #4023-Emily & Family
Ginger Ware
Greek's Pizza
Heath Farmer
Jamie Wayne
Jennifer Griese
Jennifer Williams
Jeremy Secrest
John Bush & Small Group
Junior League of Henderson
Kat Isbell
Ken & Viki Thomasson
Kendra Melchior
Kimberly & Patrick Hodges
Lewis Bakeries
Lindsay Chaffee
Lisa Cresci
Mary Chesire
Matthew & Jennifer Frankic
Melinda Bachman
Misty Miles
Nathan Lengacher
Nick Phillips
Nicole Gibson
Nikky Wilson
Patti Spooner
Patty Vanoven
Rafferty's
Rob Tant
Romina York
Sara Woodard
Spring Time McCullagh
Stacy Kirchoff
Summer & Steve Aulich
Susan Fullerton
Viki Bowers
Now, for Thanksgiving. I'm honestly taking a break from "outreaching" right now. But, Thanksgiving is coming soon. And, we've got plenty of time that we can start planning now, and make it AWESOME! I'm not sure exactly where we will do it, but we are toying with the idea of Henderson. I found out last week that the resources for the homeless and underprivileged are very few there. So, it seems perfect to me. But, we'll see what the Lord has in store for us. Please pray that he will give us some ideas. Thanks again guys. I love working with all of you while being obedient to His calling!
If you have any pictures or reflections from the Outreach, please email them to thomassonoutreaches@gmail.com and I'll post them to the blog.
–verb 1. to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to
grat·i·tude
–noun the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful
thank·ful
-Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful a benefit; grateful.
hum·ble
–adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest
2. a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly
4. respectful
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size
None of these words really work for me. I don't think there is a word to describe what I want to say to everyone who was a part of the Garvin Park Outreach. So, I'm going to leave it at "thanks", which doesn't even begin to do it justice.
For those of you that weren't with us last weekend, I'd like to give a recap of what happened.
Friday night, we were supposed to have 9 people to help dish out 400 servings of potato salad and cole slaw, count all of the desserts and sodas, and get everything ready for Saturday. We had 4, and we didn't have nearly enough potato salad and cole slaw. As you probably know, I had already been feeling like maybe this Outreach wasn't supposed to happen, and that just made it worse. So, we got more salads and kept on dishing until the last little piece of cabbage was scraped from the container. There wasn't time to count stuff, so I was just taking a leap of faith that planning was correct and we had enough.
Saturday morning, our alarm went off - 90 minutes late. Fantastic. We were supposed to meet at 7:30 to load stuff up, and then be at the park at 8:00. Of course we were late, but so were the people we were supposed to meet. I got to the park with a truckful of food, and we had 2 volunteers. Two!!! I was terrified, but at that point, there was no turning back. We finished unloading the truck as more volunteers started showing up. And then more, and more. One of our volunteers, Spring Time, said to a man who had been helping us unload "Bye Gary. Are you coming back to eat later?" Up until this point, we all thought he was one of her friends. Oh no - she found him sleeping on one of the picnic tables when she got there, and he helped us unload food that was meant for him (see definition for "humble" above) Very soon after that, she went out in the park to distribute flyers. She came back with a man named Ken. Remember that name - it will be very important later. Then a man with riding a bike with no shirt showed up. He and Ken threw on gloves and helped us wipe down tables and organize food. Food that was meant for them. We got done much earlier than expected, so I told all of the volunteers to sit and rest, spend some time in prayer, and prepare our hearts for what was going to happen that day. We read and discussed Matthew 25, our reason for doing this. I read some excerpts from Eats with Sinners, a book on well, eating with sinners. We listened to Tear Down the Walls by Hillsong United. And then, we prayed. A big group of us, while homeless men were sitting on the tables just behind us. About halfway through, we hear a voice that none of us recognized. He started praying to Yahweh and Jesuwah. I honestly don't remember what he said, but I remember goosebumps and not wanting to pray after him! When we were finished, I looked up and realized it was the guy on the bike. His name is Ronnie. That name will become important too. Somewhere in the moments to come, more people started showing up, and we realized we didn't have as much food as we thought. We started making sandwiches, and realized we didn't have enough bread. We started icing down salads, and realized we didn't have enough ice. It was terrifying at best. We actually left twice to go get more food and drinks, and STILL ran out of food. Our best estimate is 342 people were served. We had 350 forks to start out with, and left with 8. Eight!! We planned on feeding 200. Apparently God had planned on more.
So, the "important" names. First, Ronnie. Viq and I really felt called to give Ronnie some kind of job to do at our house. Now, that's weird for me, because I DON'T give money to homeless people, and I certainly don't tell them where I lived. But, we decided that we had some mulch that needed laid. Ronnie said he'd be over the next morning to work on it for us. He showed up on Sunday morning earlier than he had said, and worked his tail off. I was afraid to tell him where we lived, but decided to trust the Lord with the situation. He then came back to the house on Tuesday night while Viq was at work. I was seriously trembling. But, I went out on the front porch to see what he needed. Nothing. He just came over to tell me thank you for giving him the opportunity to earn a little cash.
Now, for Ken. Ken walks with a cane, has an eye patch, and you can tell he's much older than he should be. One of our volunteers, Misty, prayed with Ken for healing in his legs. And he prayed to give his life to the Lord. At that very moment, I realized that ALL the events leading up to this had been a challenge from God. He knows my heart, but He also knows my willingness to give up when things get hard. I'm so glad I didn't. Would Ken have been saved without the Outreach? Maybe. I don't know. But I'm SO grateful that the Lord used Misty at our Outreach to bring him into the Kingdom.
One of the greatest parts of the day was that we had SO many volunteers that I was able to walk around and talk to people, making sure they had enough to eat and drink, and sitting down listening to their stories. Sometimes, that's all these people want. I looked up 4 or 5 times and noticed there was literally not a place to sit. God SERIOUSLY showed up in that shelter house! Yes, we ran out of food at the end. I never expected that. We were able to make a small donation of potato salad and cole slaw to the Rescue Mission for their evening meal, but not as much as I had planned. There were a LOT of people that came over from the pool next door. Maybe they didn't fall into the target demographic "homeless and underprivileged", but they were hungry, and we were able to feed them. There were little kids in swim gear running around with Dorito-stained orange fingertips. It was awesome.
So, thanks guys. Thanks so much for being a part of this. You JUST don't understand - we couldn't have done it without each and everyone of you. I was going to make a list - a list of items and services people donated. But honestly, there was so much that I just can't remember every single thing.
Alexa Ridgeway
Ally Duncan
Amanda McDowell
Amber Hinton
Bill Merkel
Brandon & Jessica Barnard
Brighton Cornerston Healthcare
Brit Van Laeken
Candice Jenkins
Cathy Lockridge
Chance Schultz
Christy Johnson
Cindy Rose
Damon & Teresa Hancock
David & Sande Hancock
David Kapp
Drew Shockley
Evansville Department of Parks & Recreation
Evansville Print Specialists
Evansville Rescue Mission
Fraternal Order of Eagles #4023-Emily & Family
Ginger Ware
Greek's Pizza
Heath Farmer
Jamie Wayne
Jennifer Griese
Jennifer Williams
Jeremy Secrest
John Bush & Small Group
Junior League of Henderson
Kat Isbell
Ken & Viki Thomasson
Kendra Melchior
Kimberly & Patrick Hodges
Lewis Bakeries
Lindsay Chaffee
Lisa Cresci
Mary Chesire
Matthew & Jennifer Frankic
Melinda Bachman
Misty Miles
Nathan Lengacher
Nick Phillips
Nicole Gibson
Nikky Wilson
Patti Spooner
Patty Vanoven
Rafferty's
Rob Tant
Romina York
Sara Woodard
Spring Time McCullagh
Stacy Kirchoff
Summer & Steve Aulich
Susan Fullerton
Viki Bowers
Now, for Thanksgiving. I'm honestly taking a break from "outreaching" right now. But, Thanksgiving is coming soon. And, we've got plenty of time that we can start planning now, and make it AWESOME! I'm not sure exactly where we will do it, but we are toying with the idea of Henderson. I found out last week that the resources for the homeless and underprivileged are very few there. So, it seems perfect to me. But, we'll see what the Lord has in store for us. Please pray that he will give us some ideas. Thanks again guys. I love working with all of you while being obedient to His calling!
If you have any pictures or reflections from the Outreach, please email them to thomassonoutreaches@gmail.com and I'll post them to the blog.
Monday, June 21, 2010
2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Pictures
Ken with Misty, who prayed with him to give his life to Jesus! A one-eyed, illiterate homeless man. That's what it's about guys!
Prayer before we blessed the meal.
Steve. We found out that he was planning on staying on the picnic tables overnight, so we gave him a package of napkins as a pillow. He was SO happy! He needs clothes, so if you guys have 32" pants, Large shirts, or 9 1/2 shoes, let me know.
Look at all that food! Thanks for making it happen!
There were four or five times I looked up and there wasn't a seat in the house. Amazing!
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