People sometimes ask if there are bad days in the ‘Groceries for Families’. While we have our moments, truly we seem to exist in the 8 to 10 range on the spectrum. Even the worst day, is still great. Today was more of the same. The weather was a bit rough, with a cold, biting wind which just wouldn’t stop. This was good for keeping milk cold outside, but not great for exposed hands. Yet, it didn’t stop people coming to Jubilee this morning with deliveries of groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! It also didn’t stop families from coming, but some of them seemed to try to wait it out. The first hour was slow, while the second hour+ was very busy. In the end, it was a normal day.

Groceries today came from Lighthouse, Crossroads Bible, Victory Court, Doxa, First United Methodist, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Bellevue Presbyterian, Overlake Park Presbyterian and Highland Covenant churches, as well as the Rotary Bellevue Sunrise Club, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 203 orders came in today and all went out to families today, including those carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The AM volunteers came from Sacred Heart Parish today. They braved the cold wind and were cheerful throughout. Food boxes arrived on time and half were packed by the group, as well as all the incoming groceries were handled. Thank you, crew!

Thanks for the oranges today. We were able to provide more than half the families a bag of mandarin oranges. They add such an element of fun and color.

The crew noticed many personal notes in grocery bags and plenty of decorated on the outside of the bags. Thank you for these special touches. We can only imagine someone smiling when they find them at home. Thank you!

Eastside Baby Corner in Issaquah provide a nice donation of diapers, socks, feminine hygiene and more today. They’ve been a great partner since the beginning. Thank you, EBC, and thank you, Theresa, for the delivery.

A few stories and updates:

You’ve been reading about Erwin and his wife, Irma, who has had an ongoing cough for months. She’s been spending time at Harborview the past few weeks and had an appointment this past Tuesday afternoon with specialists who had been running tests. The indications were it was a 90% chance of cancer in her lungs. They were very nervous but were holding to their faith. Erwin emailed earlier today he would come late for groceries after 5pm. At 5:30pm, he came knocking at the door and bounced through it with a huge smile on his face. No cancer! Clearly relieved, he was very excited to share this news, as he knows many people have been praying for them through this email. They tested a suspicious site three times through a biopsy and all the doctors guessed cancer, but all 3 tests came back definitively negative. She is now on an inhaler, and they will continue to work to find out what is causing the cough. But it is not cancer. Erwin shared they have only told Jubilee of this entire episode, as they trust the people here. They’ve not told their 21-year-old daughter, nor their mothers in Honduras. They are so grateful for the care received at Jubilee and for the many (thousands!) of prayers for them. Thank you for that. Please keep praying for them. They were prepared for bad news and for their lives to change direction. They put their trust in God, either way. Now they are moving forward.
Desi is a person who has been coming to the program since the spring but hasn’t been highlighted before. She came today with her son and shared a bit of her life. She works full-time at Wal-Mart, making $15 per hour. She hasn’t lost her job but was greatly struggling before the pandemic. She is a single mom with 7 children, ages 9-22. They all live in a 2 bedroom apartment in Bellevue for $2000 rent per month. Her two oldest sons works at local restaurants to help with bills. Pre-pandemic, they struggled to pay bills on time and had to get creative to find enough food. Now in the ‘Groceries for Families’ program, their lives have stabilized. Food is now secure for them for the first time. The money they save at Jubilee, allows them to pay their bills. She’s not missed a bill since the spring. It has changed their life. This is a good story of a family who needed help before the virus. Please pray for them.

There’s a fun connection to share about the morning donors and the afternoon families receiving groceries. During the morning, people are dropping off all sorts of things at Jubilee. The groceries come in with the church or group initials on the side. It is easy for those of us doing this each day to make a facial connection of the donor to a certain bag, despite the high volume. Then, in the afternoon, we watch those same groceries make their way from the lobby to a grocery cart. Seeing the bag and initials, it is easy to recall the face of the person who donated it hours earlier. Now, we get to see the face of the person receiving it. It is quite beautiful and causes an instant connection. Despite you all not being able to experience this, try to imagine it. Your groceries (& diapers, rice, laundry pods, hygiene, etc…) do go home with a specific family. Someone in this community takes them home. They are in that home right now. Food is eaten. Soap cleans something. Pets are cared for. Diapers keep a baby clean. That’s how it works. Thank you for making that possible. May your heart be filled with love and joy.

Thanks for another great week in ‘Groceries for Families’. Have a great weekend.

Bless you all,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 48 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 49 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 48 - Day 2