The BIG Be the Church Day was Sunday when all the church was out working together. The group that I worked with was plating the meatloaf and rice we made the day before, plus baking blueberry muffins. And we asked other members to bring homemade cookies to add to the plates for dessert.
It was a flurry of activity working to get everything done by noon, our deadline when people started coming to pick up the food to be delivered. I had so much fun! Everyone worked so well together and we enjoyed each other's company.
We had these great plastic plates with lids that are freezer/microwave/dishwasher safe that we loaded up with the food. Meatloaf in the big compartment, rice in the medium one, veggies in the small one with a bit of water to help it cook when it gets microwaved. The some press and seal wrap and a roll and bag of cookies on top. The plastic lid goes on top with instructions for how to heat. We made 29 plates (weird number, I know, but that's how it worked out).
Then we made 6 dozen blueberry muffins with yummy streusel topping. I think streusel makes everything look fancier!
The kids (with one adult for guidance!) bagged all the cookies. We put 2-3 in each bag, mixing them up so each one got a couple of different kinds of cookies. Some of the cookies went of the plates and some went to nursing homes where our members went to visit and sing some songs. I think a few went in little tummies as well!
I forgot to get a picture of all the bags ready to go, since things got really busy for a while, so here are just the last few. We loaded the plates, soup, muffins, and a few extra cookies into bags to be delivered. (Trader Joe's has the best bags!)
We met our deadline and all the bags were picked up by noon! Everyone worked so hard. And no muffins or other food was burned, dropped on the floor, or otherwise lost. And no injuries! I think that's the definition of a successful morning. Travis said he had a great time and wants to do it again. All the workers said they would be up for doing this more often. We talked about doing more cooking for our homebound members so we may attempt to tackle that project in the coming months. (Maybe after Christmas!)
All the other projects went well too: Kids wrote invitations to our church's Pumpkin Patch celebration later this month. Some of the men did oil changes and minor auto repairs. A group cooked and served a meal for 200 people at an inner city church we support. We took donations and stocked the shelves of our church's food pantry. A group of women sorted and organized dresses, shoes, jewelry, and accessories for the Giving Gown program our church manages and houses. Some members went and sang and took communion to our homebound members. And several groups did clean up and repairs at both our church building and at various member's homes.
That's the group that finished up Randy's parents' fence. They SO appreciated having the posts set already so all they had to do was the finish work. It went fabulous and they were done quickly. Randy's parents loved having the group there and set out to show them some hospitality. They enjoyed a pizza lunch and all the drinks they could consume! God planned some beautiful weather for that day and it was in the 60's and sunny. Great work-outside weather!
Randy headed up and effort to clean up our neighbor's yard. We did some work for the last year and they needed it again. Randy was back on the roof and there was more leaf-raking going on. They didn't collect quite as many bags this year and they were able to trim the bushes, which made the whole place look great. And some of our other neighbors planted some bright fall flowers and set out some pots to give it some good color. I think it might look better than our house! (We could use to do some bush trimming and flower planting ourselves!)
All in all it, was an awesome day. I get so pumped by this whole experience, seeing everyone work together and having such a good time. I cannot help but see God's hand everyone working through his people to do amazing things. I love knowing that God's name is being praised and lifted up. I am blessed and humbled to be used by Him to serve. He worked things out so well I can't even tell you how cool it was to see it all happen. God is so good!
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