All week it has felt like a day off because we started serving families on Monday. So today feels like Thursday. It’s funny to have the brain just can’t adjust fast enough. Yet, Wednesday went very smoothly and was another great day. We were missing about 25 families today, which must be due to the holiday. That certainly made the day easier and finish earlier. People are excited for Thanksgiving, which was fun today. The morning was full of many shoppers coming with groceries and pantry items. The weather was cold all day but the rain didn’t come until 5:00pm when a storm blew through for about 10 minute

Groceries today were provided by Indian Fellowship, 24-Seven, Bellevue Christian Reformed, St. Louise, Newport Covenant, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, and Calvary Chapel Eastside churches, as well as the Rotary Club of Bellevue, Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 194 orders came which were expected today. Another 15 came today which had been expected yesterday. Another 23 were brought as extra orders by shoppers today, reacting to the shortage from yesterday. So we had 232 orders here! Wow! With the lower family numbers, we gave out 168 orders today. That leaves 64 orders to utilize next week, which is fantastic! Thank you to everyone who gave today. A special thank you to everyone who gave the extra orders.

The AM volunteer crew today was from Bellevue Presbyterian Church. This crew of 8 worked hard receiving the grocery orders, sorting pantry items, packing food boxes, and more. They had a lot of fun and went away with a deeper heart connection to this grocery program. Thank you, crew!

A donation came this morning from a local group that had extra Thanksgiving bags. We received about 25 bags with all these fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey breast or ham. Wow! The crew gave one to each family today with 7 or more members in the family. Families were very happy to receive this just in time for Thanksgiving. Thank you, James and Kai.

An email from a family:

Dear friends, I am one of the beneficiaries of your donated project. I went to Jubilee Reach and received milk, bread, fresh vegetables, drinks, snacks, etc. These things are very helpful to my family under the current economic situation, and I don't have to worry about my children going hungry. Your love brings us warmth and hope. Thank you very much for your generosity and love. My words cannot express my gratitude. May God bless you.

A note from a family:

Thank you so much for all your help. It has been a blessing for my house, for we have no way to pay it back. We are thankful for the help God provides to keep us healthy. May God give to you health and life. Again, thanks for the help, and have a happy thanksgiving.

We end this short week on a very good note. We will offer a quick market on Friday afternoon of many different non-perishables and other items which can’t go out on a normal busy day. Hopefully, with kids off from school, more families will be able to come to take advantage of this. Thank you to everyone who has been donating these extra items.

Someone asked today how they can best pray for Jubilee and this program:

Pray for the families. Their lives remain very hard.
Pray the families to feel loved, seen, cared for, and find a place of sanctuary, community, and belonging here, as well as leave each day with a feeling of hope.
Pray for the sustainability of this program. There is fatigue on all sides: shoppers, families, staff. May there remain energy and passion to continue each day.
Pray that the virus stays out of the Jubilee building.
Pray that we are making wise decisions and paying attention to where we all should be going as this adventure continues.
Pray that the hidden needs within this program be met.
Just pray

With 700 families in the program, it takes us all pulling in the same direction to make it happen. Thank you all you are doing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Groceries for Families: Week 35 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 36 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 35 - Day 2