April 28, 2021

After being some families short yesterday, we anticipated having a busy day today, and it came. The weather made for a great day, with cool temps in the morning but warming quickly to a nice level. The afternoon was overcast but plenty warm for working. It’s like we forgot what rain, wind, and cold are like here. Wednesdays are always busy with deliveries. Lots of people came this morning with groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone. Families kept a very steady pace up all afternoon, with many people picking up for multiple families. Lots of food went home with people today. Great day!

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bellevue and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Indian Fellowship, Bellevue Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel Eastside, 24-Seven, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Christian Reformed, St. Louise and Newport Covenant churches. A total of 268 orders came in and all but 22 went out to families today. Thank you to everyone who donated!

Food boxes arrived at 10:45am today. The MedoSweet drivers have learned our operation is different than anywhere else they deliver. All have commented about it, and they take care to help us as much as possible. John is our Wednesday driver, and he works hard to give us the coldest boxes possible. When he gets in the refrigerated truck down in Kent, he lowers the temperature to 22 degrees. He then takes his time driving to Bellevue, making a few stops for the bathroom and snacks. He makes sure to give us as much time as possible. Today, he arrived early, as he had been stalling a while. He waited in our parking lot for another 15 minutes before dropping the five pallets. He commented how he appreciates the effort we put into keeping food cold. We’ve come to appreciate these guys as part of our extended team.

The AM volunteers were from Bellevue Presbyterian Church today. This was a mixed crew of veteran and new volunteers, which is always great. They managed a hectic morning of incoming deliveries and packing food boxes. Well done, crew!

Renewal Food Bank brought a nice load of loaves of bread and bakery items today. They often share extra items on Wednesday afternoons. Thank you, Susie, and volunteers.

Last weekend, Jubilee hosted a Dental Clinic put on by the University of Washington School of Dentistry and Medical Teams International. They brought two large dental RV’s where detailed care could be done by two dentists. Under the canopies was transformed into a very busy clinic with a triage area and treatment area, along with the library being for radiology. Inside, COVID vaccines were administered. The Jubilee REACH’s Community Care team had set up appointments for Saturday and Sunday, including many people in the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. Other than cleanings, which weren’t offered, nearly every other dental care procedure was available. We saw many, many familiar faces here. On Monday, one woman came up to thank us for the care she received. Such a great weekend!

A few stories and updates:

A woman came for groceries today, picking up her family and her two sister’s families. She was delighted to receive flowers, both yellow and orange, which happen to be the favorite colors of her and her husband. They are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this week, so this was perfect timing for flowers. She said they have four kids and are very happy. We asked how they stay so happy and said that they can’t do it without God. Nice. Please pray for them.

We met a Muslim woman from Ethiopia today. She has a special needs child, so moved to Bellevue in December for the schools. Her son is now at Ardmore Elementary. The grocery program is a huge help for their family. They are celebrating Ramadan now, which is a time she likes to bake sweets. She asked if she could bring us some sweets next week to say thank you. Absolutely! Please pray for their family.

Jose has been in the program since last spring and has been highlighted a few times in this email. He comes around 9:00am each Wednesday for groceries because his work has started again at 10:00am. He works at LaCasita Restaurant in Sammamish. We were talking today when we mentioned there were extra food boxes from yesterday. He said the kitchen crew at his restaurant could certainly use some help. So, he ran his own groceries quickly home nearby, while we packed up 5 food boxes. When he came back, we took the attached picture with the volunteer who packed his boxes. He then took the boxes to work, where they could store them in a cooler during the day. Hopefully, some families are eating well tonight because of Jose’s efforts. He’s a nice man. Please pray for his family.

Thanks for another great day in ‘Groceries for Families’. We are all loving our neighbor, which feels exactly where we should be. Thank you for your continued support and prayers for these families.

Blessings to you all,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 57 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 57 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 57 - Day 1