Cilantro, Heavy Lifting, and Sales Receipts

The "Tuesday Team" was back at it yesterday; we prepared Mexican Chili for today's lunch at The Largest Table. I woke up this morning looking forward to lunch - the smells were great as we were leaving last night! The chili will be served with a dollop of sour cream and a few snips of fresh cilantro from the children's garden. There was something really thrilling about being able to harvest a huge amount of fresh cilantro from right outside our doors and know that it was the children of the church who planted it. I am sure not everyone will opt for the cilantro garnish today, but I think it is what will make this soup.

I also have a renewed appreciation for Joan and Mary, and our core "Wednesday Team." Between all of the cans of tomatoes, beef broth and black beans that were opened to make chili for 300 last night, I think Latsi was opening cans for more than an hour straight! I am sure she will be able to feel the workout on her arms this morning. And then there was Stephanie who was able to lift our largest pots FULL of browned ground beef, onions, and peppers to drain them and return it the pan. But that is not at all unusual. Our volunteers often need to open that many cans. We always have full and heavy pots. The quantities of food we are preparing now are really quite amazing. I wish I had taken a photo of all of the empty cans - maybe I can get one later today and post it here. Think multiple cases that filled the entire back of my car! So, I have renewed appreciation for the physical labor that our volunteers engage in week after week.

I also have a renewed appreciation for their thriftiness. I am not sure how Joan does it. Routinely, she is able to shop for a meal to serve 200-300 people for less than $200. That is less than $1 per serving for a home cooked meal with all of the food groups. Repeat: I am not sure how Joan does it. I think of myself as a pretty good shopper, but I wasn't quite able to work her magic. I think she has the in with the loaves and fishes guy.

The Swing of Summer

I love summer. I love warm weather and sunshine. I love having the kids home. I love the ever changing gardens outside, and being able to cut fresh flowers for my home. I love cooking on the grill and using fresh produce that comes right from the ground. I love having a schedule that is a little less crowded with meetings so there is more room for reading, planning, and creativity to emerge. I love the longer days and the spontaneity of getting together with family or friends that seems to happen more readily in the summer. I love sitting on the porch, or by the water, and simply enjoying the day. I love sitting in our sanctuary feeling a breeze and hearing the sounds of the city right outside our door.

With the new season comes a new schedule. This year my husband is teaching for several weeks in India, and so my early morning hours have been spent communicating via web cam with him. My late night hours have been spent connecting with the kids. I wouldn’t trade those hours; I cherish them. However, I recognize that these were the times I had typically been blogging - first thing in the morning or last thing at night. I want to get back to regular blog updates and I know I can do it. Like most things that are important to us, it is a matter of making it a priority and balancing it with everything else. Now that I recognize the need, I will carve out other time. I see it all as part of getting into the swing of summer! I will be in the swing of summer before the calendar officially tells us we are there.

Treasure Garden

The east side of the church building has a new look to it. What used to be a green patch currently looks like a bunch of dirt, and with the right amount of TLC this space will soon be sprouting all sorts of vegetables!

The children of the church have planted what they are calling the "children's treasure garden" with the hopes that their produce will provide an abundance for The Largest Table and the food pantry. The kids did an awesome job of planting an assortment of great stuff. They seem pumped up about it - and they should be - this is a big endeavor and they are responsible for nearly every aspect of it. In addition, I am especially grateful for Jim Beaver who prepared the soil, and the Garretts, who helped nurture the plants from seed and who provide much needed guidance for this new project. Scott Schieber has been instrumental as well in not only getting this project going but also keeping "the farm" (as he calls it) watered during the first couple of weeks. We are learning many things as we go!

The next step is to create some sort of schedule for the garden's care. Perhaps in these early stages the kids could take turns being responsible for watering on a specific day of the week. Later, we will not only need to water but also weed and harvest. One of the things we are learning about is the constant care that is needed for steady growth.

Ephesians 4:28

The challenge of the day started with 6 yards of compost mulch. Yesterday, this large amount of compost leaf mulch was dumped on the sidewalk in front of our glass doors, and in front of (as in blocking) the ramp that leads to our essential elevator door!

The mulch was delivered so that it can be tilled into the ground in preparation for this coming Sunday when the children of the church will be planting a garden to benefit The Largest Table. Weeks ago they planted many plants from seed, which the Garretts have been kind enough to tend over the past weeks, and now all of these plants are ready to go into the ground. Jim Beaver has graciously volunteered to prepare the ground. However, our garden experts determined that in order for anything to grow we would need to not only till the ground, but also add lots of good stuff to the earth. That is how we got the mulch!

We have so much going on at the church that this big pile of mulch has provided numerous challenges today. I won't go into all of the details, but I knew we needed at least a path from the drive to the elevator door by the time anyone would arrive tomorrow.

Just as I was contemplating how we might get this done, a guest of The Largest Table showed up looking for some extra work so that he could pay for an $8 prescription. I rarely engage in this type of exchange, but my eyes lit up at the prospect of getting some immediate assistance. I was amazed that his eyes lit up, too, when I showed him the daunting pile of mulch.

Todd told me, "This is great! I love landscaping! And, this is good work for me. Ephesians 4:28,'He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands' I spent enough time doing things that weren't useful. This is just the kind of work that I like to do!" I gave him a shovel and he got to work.

We were both thrilled. Todd has his prescription. We have a pathway. And, Todd told me he would check back in the morning to see if he can finish off the job - not for money, but simply because he likes doing something useful with his hands.