Stories

 

The smoky smell of burgers on the grill wafts through the door as tic-tic of knives on cutting boards, Christmas carols and chatter fill the background with sound.

 

 This isn’t the normal at the center, but today is a fun day.  We’ve set up a barbeque outside for the community to drop in. Decorated with balloons, you could walk through and see buns being cut and sauces being prepared.

 

Some are stopping in just for food and some coming to join the festivities. There is laughter and chatter, dancing all around as everyone enjoys the atmosphere of Christmas. With the questions about the future, the war, and troubles in the South of the country many are finding it a bit more difficult to get into the “Christmas Spirit”.

 

Our team goes between cooking, mingling, and serving food. It’s the first time we’ve had a party like this inviting the whole community. But there was one household that needed a delivery today. Eva and her sister were too old to come to the center for their burgers, so a couple of our team made a surprise visit. They don’t have electricity or generator. These two women never married and spent their life as tailors taking care of their mother.  They spend their evenings by candlelight chatting. Despite their circumstances they have a joy for life that we got to partake in that day.

 

We handed out almost 1,200 burgers and had many more conversations.

 

We want the community to know that we stand with them and that they have a place to come when they are overwhelmed or in need. Our goal is that our community center can really be a place of “community,” a place a rest and a place of peace. A place where those who come would know that when they leave, they feel like a weight has been lifted.  That those who come would know that there is something different about this place. That God is in this place.