January 7, 2007

I start to feel a wave of excitement as I round the corner from Washington onto Kirkwood. The stop signs and traffic are only obstacles to me at this point that must be overcome. With my car parked, I scurry into Trinity Episcopal Church where I know fellow brothers and sisters will be waiting to get the day’s event underway. I am met with numerous familiar faces all characterized by delightful smiles. Today was the first Sunday back in Bloomington after Christmas for many of us involved in the Renovo Sunday lunch. As the clock nears 1:30, we, the volunteers, gather in a hallway to talk over the plans for the day, read some Scripture, and pray together. Hands are held while thanks, praises, and supplications are lifted up to our Father who listens not only to our spoken words, but those also put on our hearts by His Spirit. The menu today is pasta, chicken with broccoli and peaches, lemon bars, and an assortment of juices to drink. At 2:00 the lids are lifted up from the platters that release steam and reveal the delightful smell of a home-cooked meal. So many different guests line up to cover their plate with the edible goodness. There is a joy all around because by now the guests whom we have been serving for months have become friends. Hugs, handshakes, smiles, and greetings are exchanged among friends. I am delighted to see Navajo, a man that comes every week to eat with us. He is a gentle and joyful man with a demeanor of kindness and quieted humor. We plan to talk later after I am done serving pasta. Many plates later, I sit down next to Navajo with my serving of pasta and chicken. He raves to me about the quality of the food this week and how he himself enjoyed three servings. We talk and Navajo blesses me with new of possible future opportunities of employment that he has been exploring. By 4:00 most of our guests have parted their separate ways and we clean up knowing that next Sunday will bring many wonderful gifts from God in the form of our friends and their lives.

January 14, 2007

I drive up and down Kirkwood in the light drizzle of the early afternoon. Despite the cold and rain I know many hungry guests will make their way over to the church for lunch and community. And I realized today that we have become just that: a community. I arrive early to gather some thoughts together before the other volunteers arrive and I am surprised to see someone is already waiting for us to show up. His name is Leon and I recognized him from the week before. He asks a few questions, but then sits down beside me, eager to share a shaping time in his life with me. Despite his circumstances, Leon tells me story after story with a smile on his face and intermittent bouts of laughter. From what he tells me about his history, he seems, in many ways, a changed individual. He adds at one point that he has attended a local church for the past two Sundays and that he has really enjoyed going. More and more volunteers arrive and we make our way to our usual spot in the hallway for prayer and Scripture reading. In our circle, I see new faces and it makes me happy to hear of their hearts for serving their God and Lord Jesus in this way. By this time, many guests had gathered around the tables of our serving area. Usually, the guests come and go, trickling in and out in various numbers. Today, however, there were many together at one time and it really spoke forth the sense of community I had realized earlier. The menu today seemed like a Mexican feast. We had chicken and beef tacos. They were comprised of homemade flour tortillas and pico de gallo…not too mention cheese, lettuce, sour cream, black beans, and Spanish rice. Seriously, mouths are watering as I type this. While serving up some pico de gallo and chicken, I am given news of joy as my friends tell me of their recently acquired jobs and homes. Ah, the Lord, He is good! Soon after, I join our chef, Paul, in the kitchen to make the dessert—sopaipillas. We take dough similar to that of the tortillas, fry it, and cover it with cinnamon and sugar. It was a sweet way to top off the tacos by coupling it with honey and ice cream. I enjoy my lunch next to a gray-haired man named Rich. We exchange a few words, mostly about the delicious food we were both consuming. Seated next to him is a gentle and soft-spoken woman named Chris. Her eyes are kind as she asks for contact information so that in the spring, when she gathers the vegetables from her garden, she can donate fresh produce to our lunches. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Just days before a group of us had prayed about possibilities such as this. The day begins to wrap up as I hear the tail end of a deep conversation between two men concerning the authority of God’s Word. As they prepare to depart, the men confirm that they shall discuss such matters again next week during lunch. After the guest has left, Andrew, the volunteer involved in this ongoing talk, turns toward us with wide eyes and a joyous grin. As we clean up, we receive news that two of our good friends, Abe and Josh, are thinking of joining us at church later this evening. I love how Christ is using this lunch ministry to point others to not only His glorious Self, but His lovely Bride…

~Leslie Kerchief, Renovo Leadership

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