We are back! Thank God the “new” normal wasn’t permanent.
We really missed being able to sit with all of our friends and enjoy a meal. OIM had its Christmas meal on Tuesday, January 24th at Knox Presbyterian Church and it was a big success.
It was a BIG success from the point of view of our Street Friends as they were able to sit with friends and family and enjoy a Turkey Dinner with all the fixins! Turkey with stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables! And a wonderful dessert of a homemade cupcake together with a Christmassy gingerbread poptart!
It was a big success from the point of our Volunteers who got to meet old friends.
And mostly it was a BIG success from the point of view of the sense of community that we were fortunate enough to see take hold as our volunteers and street friends met for the first time in almost 3 years in such a personal and community setting!
OIM’s Volunteers served 186 Meals to approximately 150 individuals. Everyone got a personal Christmas Card and to our Chinese community we were able to say Happy New Year as our meal fell in the middle of their weeklong celebration!
OIM would like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated and volunteered to make this event such a success. We are already off and planning our Easter Meal and we expect to serve even more people now that the word is out that the OIM is back at Knox!
The most important thing that we need to do is to acknowledge the role that God played in enabling us to step back into the lives of our friends in such a joyous way!
God Bless and see you at the OIM Easter meal!
~Brian – Volunteer Coordinator