The Community Services Team of New Life Adventist Church in Chicago met early Christmas morning at the church to set up to feed people from the community. Upon arrival, they noticed that some guests had already showed up. The Team, led by Dollie Williams, hurried and prayerfully took on the tasks of the activity. Sister Williams said, “It brought tears to my eyes to see so many people coming seeking a meal so early in the morning on Christmas!”
The Team was ready for action! They had prepared a full Christmas meal, “Soul food” accented with “Mississippi sweet potato pies”. The food was already hot as it was freshly prepared, so they rushed and started serving. The faster they served the more people came until the room filled up to overflowing. However, the people didn’t complain. They took chairs and set them up in the hallways to rest their plates while they ate. They were even allowed carryouts. The Team also had a nurse on duty throughout the event.
What a blessing it was for the guests, as well as for the volunteers. Sister Williams is grateful for all the members that gave donations to help with the meal. She also appreciates the efforts of those that helped to prepare the meal and those that helped to serve the meal. The youth of the church also took part in this event. They usually go out on the streets to serve the homeless people once they are done serving meals at the church, but due to the request of the guests to take meals to homebound people, they refrained from going to the streets. However, they gave gifts to all the guests, both adults and children. At the end of the day, there were over 100 carryout meals!
