And really, we're all the least of these, because none of us deserve such grace. But these people are truly the least, the forgotten, the neglected.
I wanted to get this story down before I forget, because it's a great story.
The longer John and I are married (almost 16 years now), the more we both realize that we share a passion for food. We love food. This isn't always a good thing, but it's what it is. John loves to cook BBQ, and he cooks some really good BBQ, if I say so myself. I love to bake, and we love experimenting with different ideas, trying to create good things to eat. We have joked over the years about opening a restaurant, but the reality is it's just a joke. For one, we probably aren't that risky, and we really don't want to work weekends. Or weeknights.
So we started thinking, well what if we started a barbecue ministry of sorts, and used our passion and talent to feed others? So we mentioned it to a few people, and my friend Allison mentioned in a conversation that I should talk to Kristie. I had no idea who Kristie was, but I found her on Facebook and sent her an email that went something like this: we are really wanting to serve food, but have no idea where to start. Do you know of anyone who could use food for a ministry? And she responded, ummm YES. I'm paraphrasing. But she went on to tell me that her daughter, Sydney, who is 13, has felt the Lord calling them to serve the inner city of Knoxville, mostly the kids in the projects that just don't get much attention. But she knew that food would be a big motivator for people to come, and they didn't know where that would come from. Sydney and her family had been praying about it for several months, and then my email comes.
And we have our first outreach. We nailed down the date, and started working towards that. The night before we are to go, Kristie's husband calls John just to make sure we know that this is a dangerous area, keep your kids close, dress them down, and talks about the darkness that is present here. I must admit, after that phone call, I was a bit freaked out and questioning what I was getting my kids into (and us!). We talked to Paige's parents, because she was supposed to go with us, and told them all of that. They felt comfortable with her going with us, so on Saturday morning, me, John, Ansley, Paige and Christian headed out to downtown Knoxville. (Avery stayed with my Mom.)
I have to be honest and say I don't have a lot of experience with the needy. Okay, I have none. I have never been around poverty, or people who are hungry or go without. All the people I interact with on a daily basis are just like me, they live lives filled with food and toys and family outings and excess. And I'm not saying we should feel guilty about that, I'm just saying that lately I have felt a restlessness to do more. I feel like God is calling me to more. We have been blessed with so much, and I want to use that in a way that glorifies Him.
I also have to say that poverty makes me emotional. I just cannot fathom not having enough food to feed my kids. Not having money to buy clothes, or silly toys, or meals three times a day. It is very far from my scope, and my life experiences.
I prayed a lot on Friday evening and Saturday morning. My mind was flooded with two songs - the first one was "I'll follow you into the homes of the broken. I'll follow you into the world. Meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God, I'll follow you into the world." And that's definitely what we were doing - following God's lead to the poor and the needy. The second song was how girls will be queens and boys will be kings, when we love the least of these. We were also doing this - loving the least of these.
So these were the two songs I was singing as we approached the area where we were to serve. When we pulled up, I noticed two children playing by themselves on the sidewalk, watching us. I also noticed two police cars pull up, and proceed to go to someone's door. We met up with Kristie, Sydney and their family, plus another family that was there to serve as well. We made introductions and chatted, and then started unloading everything. I looked around, and I didn't feel scared or uncomfortable at all. Some people were watching us, and we were the only white people around, but I wasn't nervous.
Since there were so many people, we got everything set up in about five minutes. Then we waited. At first, I thought nobody was going to come, and we were going to have a TON of food. I asked someone if we should go door to door and offer food, but was told to never do that. So, we waited some more.
And pretty soon, people came. Some were suspicious, most were thankful. Some people asked questions, some didn't. Several people asked if we were from a church. Several other people asked why we were doing this. One lady that sticks out in my mind said "Ain't nobody done nothin' like this for us before. Ever." I also noticed that people were hungry. Where I thought we would make up a sandwich per plate with the sides, people would ask for 2, 3, sometimes 4 sandwiches with heaping helpings of the sides. John and I served every one of them - we asked what they wanted, and we scooped and drizzled and smiled and made conversation. We thought this would make it easier to control the food, plus since there were a lot of kids that could get messy if they were serving themselves, and we thought these people probably weren't served very often.
One little boy kept coming back for more food. I mean, like six times at least. Finally, it was towards the end of the day and we were running out of food. He had a fondness for chips, so I told him if it was okay with his Mama, he could have the bag of chips. (There was maybe 1/4 of the bag left.) His eyes lit up and he repeated "If my Mama says it's ok?" and I said "absolutely." He took off with that bag like I had just given him a million dollars, yelling "THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!"
Another man shared that he didn't have any food until his food stamps arrived next week, so we boxed up some barbecue, chips, plates and drinks and sent them with him. He was very thankful, and extremely nice.
Ansley befriended a nine year old girl, Jamayla. They jumped rope together, ran around, talked and laughed. I overheard them discussing their favorite subjects, as well as things they liked to do. When we were about to leave, Jamayla ran up to Ansley and said "Hey, let's you and me get together some time and, like, hang out and stuff. Okay?" Ansley shook her head and looked at me, and of course we'd love to get together with her. But when would we ever cross paths? When would we have the opportunity to meet her parents? In talking with her, she shared with me that her dad worked for a moving company. It was the same company that my Mom had used to move here, and I told her that. Her eyes got really wide and she exclaimed "Your Mama moved HERE?" When I said yes, she started looking around and said "WHERE?" It was then I realized she thought I meant my mom moved into this housing complex, but I had just meant here in Knoxville. When I cleared up the confusion, she responded "Oh. I was gonna say your Mama sure is unlucky if she's livin' here."
(That's Jamayla standing next to Ansley.)
We inquired to some of the more open residents why there weren't more people. He told us that hundreds of kids lived there, but their parents would never come out into this courtyard because they were afraid of what might happen to them. We were in a concrete area right smack in the middle of the complex, so basically surrounded by the building. He suggested a more open area might attract more people. We are going back next month, and hope to go to the field next door to see if more people might join us. I am hoping to see Jamayla again, as well as an older lady that gave me a big hug and thanked me profusely.
After I posted the pictures on Facebook with the words from the song "Kings and Queens" song by Audio Adrenaline, Kristie texted me and said that there was no way I could have known this, but when they first started reaching out to the needy, Sydney said "Why should we eat like kings and queens when they have nothing?"
And it does give you something to think about.
We were really blessed by this. I went into thinking it would be extremely uncomfortable, and it wasn't. It taught me that people are people. Some people make different choices than maybe I would make, but they are still people, trying to raise their kids and live their life and do the best they can. It did make me think several times "Why are we blessed with so much when they have so little?" I know you can't change the world by just giving people stuff, so then it makes me wonder what the heart of the issue is. What can I (we) do practically that will help these people? And I think the answer is just to build relationships with them, because that is what will allow us to share Jesus with them. I am already looking forward to next month, and trying to brainstorm different ideas for bringing more people out. Won't you join us in praying for the least of these? And if you have any practical suggestions, I'd love to hear them!