It’s a little fuzzy on how Ben and I got ourselves into the situation – but we ended up eating lunch in a soup kitchen. I ate lunch with a spoon, which I thought was a bit odd.
When we first walked into the Emmanuel Dinning Room East , a guy waved us over to take a seat at a table. First we asked in the kitchen to see if they needed help serving. They said “not today”, so Ben and I followed the guy that was waving us over. We sat down at a table by ourselves. We were quickly served a plate with noodles and meat sauce, pees and carrots and two cookies. There was water and bread on the table. We felt awkward.
It wasn’t long before Tony sat down between us. Ben had just prayed for our free meal and asked God to send someone our way. We had an awesome conversation with Tony, he’s very positive and is looking for a job.
My sister-in-law Joanna had heard about our homeless lunch journeys. She gave me 2 goodie bags to hand out. They had candy, single use tooth brushes, and some wipes and lotion. After lunch, we wandered around and found two guys that seemed like they could use a goodie bag. Ironically both of them were pushing shopping carts and had shaggy beards.
First we found James, he said everyone calls him “Shaggy” – Ben asked if he could use a blanket, and he said “Dig it!”. Ben gave him a blanket from Ali and I gave him the goodie bag from Joanna. Shaggy dug right into the caramels as we were talking with him – no hesitation. I wonder if he’ll use the tooth brush? We told him we’d look for him so we can take him to lunch. I hope we find him again.
Next we found Jack, pushing a cart full of old computer parts – he was going to the recycling place. He also was happy to get a bag full of candy.
Not sure what we learned on this trip, except that giving stuff away is fun and anyone is welcome at the Emmanual Dinning Room East in Wilmington. Ben and I decided to serve here to make up for our free lunch…
Emmanuel Dining Room East
Food for the hungry
226 N. Walnut Street
Wilmington, DE 19801-3934
652-2577
mail@ministryofcaring.org
Just so you know, Ben won’t stop saying, “Dig it”. He says it at least 20 times a day. Ha!
that’s so Ben. he should keep saying “dig it”.
tell Ben I talked to Tony and he could use some welding equipment. I’m going to check with Jimmy to see if we can get him some.
First, you never know what you’re going to get when you eat at a soup kitchen — there are times when they get in a donation of Fillet Mignon or lobster or something else exotic and good. It’s always interesting to see people question what they’re being served on those occasions.
Second, thanks for speaking with our men’s class about this – we’re studying the book “Chasing Daylight” and this fit perfectly with the concept of “just do something” — you’re sharing about this initiative you and Ben took, and how much you’ve gotten out of it, really helped drive the point home!
dig the post. i’ve been slackin’ on my blog. next week…shaggy? monday?