May 4, 2021

Week 58 is here and the warm sunshine filled the afternoon, after a cool & cloudy morning. Such weather is very conducive to grocery operation. Love it, while it’s here. The morning was full of happy people bringing groceries, a pantry, and hygiene items, along with lots of beautiful flowers & cards. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon was unusually slow, with the final attendance being about 50 short of normal. We have no idea why. Families are permitted to switch days, so we’ll see if the next two days are busier. Besides the lower numbers, the operation was very smooth today.

The morning volunteer group of eight people came from seven different churches. They worked hard to keep the operation organized. Food boxes came at 10:30am, which they quickly iced and wrapped in insulating blankets. They received all the deliveries and kept the Mother’s Day extras organized. Well done, crew!

We want to acknowledge the weekly deliveries brought by volunteers from local grocery stores and distributors this week: Rick from Amazon Go Overlake; Kathy & Dale from Safeway Thrasher’s Corner; Mike, Gil & Kyle from QFC Crossroads; Fred from Whole Foods Bellevue; Gil & Mike from a local distributor; Fred from Trader Joe’s Overlake. Thank you, everyone!

Just as we were worrying this morning about having enough flowers, in came a surprise delivery from Three Points Elementary School in Medina. The parents there had done a staff appreciation day with flowers and had about 40 bouquets leftover, which a grocery volunteer-delivered to Jubilee. What a prayer answered! Thank you, Valerie.

Senior lunches were delivered by Barb, Theresa, and Ashley. These care packages were taken to 32 people in the community who are otherwise quite isolated. The crew puts a lot of love into the meals and bags. Thank you, crew.

Volunteers from Crossroad Bible Church came to pass out the flowers and cards to all the families today. Kim and Jodi had a lot of fun filling this unique role in the operation. Thank you, ladies.

The King County Master Gardeners delivered a few flats of tomato and pepper plants, leftover from a plant sale. They’ll be passed out this week. Thank you, Wendy & everyone else there

A few stories and updates:

Shahin came to volunteer yesterday, which is her third shift. It seems to be therapeutic for her to be here. She is quiet but very happy to help. Please continue to pray for her and her daughter.

A mom with an infant came today. She was very excited for her first Mother’s Day. The flowers nestled in with the baby made for a fun pose. After the picture was taken, we learned her sister had driven them Jubilee but now needed to leave for work. So, the young mom was left with food for two families and only the bus to get home. Impossible. Clearly, there was no plan. The woman who photo-bombed is Mariana, who is a total sweetheart and full of joy. Overhearing this, she offered to drive the woman home in NE Bellevue. So, the food and baby were loaded up in a minivan. Such a great ending and a common example of families helping each other.

Rose came very late today. We’ve profiled her in this email before. Her husband died in spring 2020, not from COVID, leaving her with four children at home. She got a job at Home Depot in south Seattle a few months ago and absolutely loves it. She had come from work and was very tired today. The flowers and card made her day and brought back her lovely smile. From Jubilee, she was going across the street to the cemetery, where her husband is buried.

Angelina and her daughter, Carla, brought lunch for the crew today: chicken quesadillas, Mexican rice, and hot-hot-hot sauce. She continues to show her love and appreciation through her cooking. She hinted that enchiladas may be coming tomorrow. Yes, you can pray for that. 😊

We begin this week with 678 families in ‘Groceries for Families’ (220 Tuesday, 221 Wednesday, 237 Thursday). There are 19 families on the waiting list, which is growing slowly. We will be making final decisions about the future of the program this week, rolling it out to families and all of you next week. The current program is committed through Thursday, July 1. Thanks for your patience. Many of you are asking about the future.

Thanks for another great day. It’s always hard when attendance is down, but families know we are here, which certainly provides comfort for them. We continue to stay true to simply wanting to show love and grace to all who come here. There are many distractions and issues which have to be dealt with. Yet, we want to remain focused on seeing the families who come to Jubilee as important members of this community, caring for them in any way possible, and making sure they are not alone in this difficult time. Further, we want to pray for them, as much as possible. For those profiled in this email, you can pray for them in very personal ways. Please do. Please also pray for the many families not highlighted. They are here, too. Thank you for all you are doing.

Enjoy the warmth of this May evening, wherever this email finds you,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 58 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 58 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 57 - Day 3