Hope

During Thanksgiving, we are encouraged to remember what we are thankful for in our lives.  As we enter into Advent, we are encouraged to focus on the hope of the coming Christ child.  Through the Five & Two Food Truck ministry, it is easy to be both thankful and hopeful.  

Each time we go out, the thankfulness and hope that is passed onto us by folks living much difference lives than we is palpable.  Overwhelmingly, the response to "How are you doing today?" is "Blessed, pastor, blessed."  We are doing more than just serving a delicious home-style meal to our friends, we are building relationships and learning from each other what it means to be children of God and followers of Christ. 

I have had the privilege of getting to know many people well at the Presbyterian Night Shelter through our monthly meals there.  One such young man and I developed a friendship that led beyond the shelter and the Five & Two Food Truck.  He and his family went through the program there, and now have their own housing.  He has started high school and each week, my two boys and I pick him up and take him to his art class on Lancaster.  Although he no longer lives there, he still wants to be in the art program to share his gifts with others.  This month, he and his grandmother will go with us to the PNS Women and Children's Unit to serve.  

Transformed lives working on building the Kingdom of God.  Together.  

Christ broke bread and shared meals with a whole range of people during His ministry here on earth, and those meals led to transformed lives.  May we use the hope of this season to be transformed as well, and live out the gospel in all that we do. 

Mouthful of Miracles

One of the beautiful things about the Five & Two Food Truck Ministry is that it allows us to build relationships with those we serve.  The Patriot House at the Presbyterian Night Shelter is one of our most highly attended events each month.  Our volunteers love visiting with these men, and the fruit of the relationships are easy to see.

God works in great and wonderful ways in connecting God's children with one another.  This past week, one of those connections led to many "mouthfuls of miracles."

One of our members is a retired dentist who works with Texas Mission of Mercy, an organization that provides free dental services to those in need.  Through our ongoing ministry at the Patriot House, we were able to identify 12 men who could benefit from this mission.  

We loaded up our church van with these 12 fine men and drove them to Dallas where they spent two days getting much needed work done, from full dentures to partials.

They all have beautiful smiles, and were among 99 veterans receiving care that Veteran's Day Weekend.

You see, God is Good, All the Time, and All the Time, God is Good.  

Thanks be to God!

Summer Fun

As the mercury rises outside, the Five & Two Food Truck ministry is still having fun bringing the church into the community.

Here are some photos of the first two nights of the Summer Camp for Kids that we have been hosting at Thomas Place Community Center.

 We have had children and families from many neighborhoods around Fort Worth join us along with dozens of exciting volunteers from AHUMC!  

We have shared God's love through Art, Science and will finish this Thursday with water fun.

Thanks to all who have helped to continue making this ministry such an important and far reaching one of AHUMC.

Memorial Day and Gratitude

Last week we were priveleged to be a part of a celebration of the men and women who served our country who are currently living in shelters on East Lancaster.  We partnered with other churches in the area and VFW's to provide an amazing cookout for all these proud veterans.

We visited with our old friends from the Patriot House and made many new friends.  Thanks to a very generous donation from a member of the church, we were able to serve over 200 freshly grilled wild boar smoked german sausages to go with the burgers provided by the VFW.

We paused this last weekend to remember and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  I hope that we will also pray for those who served our country and now are struggling to survive on the streets in cities from coast to coast and certainly in our own backyard.  

We are thankful for our relationship with the Presbyterian Night Shelter, and are grateful that we are able to be present with these men and women as they work towards finding full time employment and permanent housing.  Our truck, the delicious food we serve and the dedicated volunteers who show up faithfully each time are very real reminders that no one is alone when there is God who knows us each intimately.  

Jesus Christ, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for all; walks with each of us, supporting us and letting us know that He loves us.  Our prayer is that we can continue to remind all those with whom we come into contact of that fact.  God Bless our veterans!

We Are Family

On April 9, the Five & Two Food Truck was invited to be a part of a literacy fair at Fortress Youth Development Center on the east side of Fort Worth.  Jesus asks us to constantly consider the question "Who is your neighbor?"  We love being able to respond to that question by taking our church into the community and meeting our neighbors.  The nature of the Five & Two Food Truck Ministry allows folks of all ages and abilities to share in the ministry of sharing a meal and creating community all over the city.

This weekend was special as the youth of AHUMC had an amazing retreat and were able to serve with the food truck as part of their weekend.  Words can't begin to describe how awesome our youth are.  They arrived and immediately took ownership of this mission. Over 120 kids and families came through the fair which celebrated literacy and the joy of reading with games and giving away 623 books!  

Our youth proved that we are all family by immediately becoming a part of this community celebration by being with the kids and serving food to all.  I am thankful to God for this group of young people and the adults who led them this weekend.  They all have a servant's heart that we could all learn from.

Thank a youth or youth leader when you see them, remember We Are Family!

learn more about Fortress here:  http://www.fortressydc.org/

Where Does The Rainbow End?

Just in case you ever wondered where the rainbow ends:

*picture taken at the TCU Wesley Foundation

What an incredible reminder of God's promises and presence with us always.

The Power of Food

Have you ever noticed that at family get togethers or parties, the kitchen tends to be where folks bunch up?  Good food and cooking can be magnets, drawing people in and together.  

Food has power.  It doesn't have to be gourmet to be good.  Simple food is often times the most powerful, particularly if it has that little something extra:  love.
  
Sure, one can eat a quickly made sandwich over the kitchen sink and get full.  Folks can go to one of many cafeteria style soup kitchens up and down Lancaster and get full, often from a starch heavy meal that can easily be prepared for hundreds on the cheap.

But, if you can sit down and eat a meal that has been thoughtfully and lovingly prepared, full of flavor and well rounded, and share that meal with someone who genuinely cares about how you are, how much more powerful is that? 

When we serve roasted chicken, mixed steamed vegetables, and (the increasingly becoming famous!) hash brown casserole along with homemade peach cobbler to homeless veterans who have been working hard, for example, we are bringing the warmth of the family table and the love of Jesus Christ.  

We are not just serving a meal that is delicious and several cuts above what else is available, we are responding to the call of Jesus to love our neighbor.  Authentically, consistently and unconditionally.  

That's Kingdom building, and we are humbled to be a part of it.