The china/styro combination was back. I'm glad.
Anyway, Dinner this week was provided by a local United Church congregation. Very tasty, nutritious, on time.
We've had a few new families the last couple of weeks. I don't know their names yet, but they're both families of adults - grandma, mom, dad, adult kids. The only conversation I've had with one of them so far was to point out where the juice table was, in case they wanted something to drink. The juice is provided every week by the same guy. He says he can't cook, so he brings cartons of drinks, which are really enjoyed by the Diners.
One of the people I was talking on Wednesday looked over at the table, lit up and said, "Oh! Fruitopia!" A little luxury. A lot of joy.
Speaking of luxury, I was thinking on the drive home about how nice it is to be able to just show up. I've written about this before, but it's kind of a big deal for me.
In the early days, here's what my Dinner day looked like:
Late morning - figure out what I'm cooking, make a list of stuff I need (including frozen concentrated drinks, bread, margarine, dessert); drive to grocery store, spend half an hour shopping; drive home.
Early afternoon - start chopping/slicing/thawing/timing; cook what can be cooked ahead of time.
Late afternoon - cook what has to be cooked late; fill 20 l water jug; keep hot things hot, cold things cold; load it all in the car, arranging it so that if it spills, my car won't smell like chili all summer. Remember to bring something to make the juice in.
Later afternoon - drive very carefully to the church that's our umbrella; let myself in, go downstairs and load up boxes of styroplates, cutlery, cups, serving utensils, condiments that are in the fridge; carry it all up the stairs in 3 trips and load the car. Remember to lock the church.
15 minutes to 6 - drive very carefully from the church to the Motel; carry in boxes of plates etc., hot food etc, water jug etc. Make the juice while B and Z unload their contributions and CL organizes it all.
After Dinner, drive back to the church and carry the unused plates etc. back down the stairs for next week. And there were large pots and pans to be washed. (Confession - sometimes, if it was cold enough outside, I'd leave them in the car until the next morning.)
It was all rather exhausting, on one hand.
On the other hand, we were running on the adrenaline that comes with a new adventure.
If we hadn't seen our team grow the way it has, and if the churches in town hadn't jumped in to help, I don't think I'd still be doing this. I'd be tired and frustrated and it wouldn't be fun anymore. I'd be annoyed with the Diners for needing me to do all this week after week after week and I'd call it quits.
As things stand now, my first passion continues to be for the spiritual. The times I spent having church at the Motel were some of the best of my life and I look forward to the chance to do that again. Knowing that the Dinners are being looked after gives me the energy to start thinking along those lines again.
This is the beauty of having people step into the spaces that only they can fill. Because they want to, because it excites them, because it's what they're gifted for. Which frees other people to do the same.
I don't have any definite plan right now for 'church' at the Motel, but it's an idea that's not going away any time soon.
r
Anyway, Dinner this week was provided by a local United Church congregation. Very tasty, nutritious, on time.
We've had a few new families the last couple of weeks. I don't know their names yet, but they're both families of adults - grandma, mom, dad, adult kids. The only conversation I've had with one of them so far was to point out where the juice table was, in case they wanted something to drink. The juice is provided every week by the same guy. He says he can't cook, so he brings cartons of drinks, which are really enjoyed by the Diners.
One of the people I was talking on Wednesday looked over at the table, lit up and said, "Oh! Fruitopia!" A little luxury. A lot of joy.
Speaking of luxury, I was thinking on the drive home about how nice it is to be able to just show up. I've written about this before, but it's kind of a big deal for me.
In the early days, here's what my Dinner day looked like:
Late morning - figure out what I'm cooking, make a list of stuff I need (including frozen concentrated drinks, bread, margarine, dessert); drive to grocery store, spend half an hour shopping; drive home.
Early afternoon - start chopping/slicing/thawing/timing; cook what can be cooked ahead of time.
Late afternoon - cook what has to be cooked late; fill 20 l water jug; keep hot things hot, cold things cold; load it all in the car, arranging it so that if it spills, my car won't smell like chili all summer. Remember to bring something to make the juice in.
Later afternoon - drive very carefully to the church that's our umbrella; let myself in, go downstairs and load up boxes of styroplates, cutlery, cups, serving utensils, condiments that are in the fridge; carry it all up the stairs in 3 trips and load the car. Remember to lock the church.
15 minutes to 6 - drive very carefully from the church to the Motel; carry in boxes of plates etc., hot food etc, water jug etc. Make the juice while B and Z unload their contributions and CL organizes it all.
After Dinner, drive back to the church and carry the unused plates etc. back down the stairs for next week. And there were large pots and pans to be washed. (Confession - sometimes, if it was cold enough outside, I'd leave them in the car until the next morning.)
It was all rather exhausting, on one hand.
On the other hand, we were running on the adrenaline that comes with a new adventure.
If we hadn't seen our team grow the way it has, and if the churches in town hadn't jumped in to help, I don't think I'd still be doing this. I'd be tired and frustrated and it wouldn't be fun anymore. I'd be annoyed with the Diners for needing me to do all this week after week after week and I'd call it quits.
As things stand now, my first passion continues to be for the spiritual. The times I spent having church at the Motel were some of the best of my life and I look forward to the chance to do that again. Knowing that the Dinners are being looked after gives me the energy to start thinking along those lines again.
This is the beauty of having people step into the spaces that only they can fill. Because they want to, because it excites them, because it's what they're gifted for. Which frees other people to do the same.
I don't have any definite plan right now for 'church' at the Motel, but it's an idea that's not going away any time soon.
r
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