1993 issue 3 - the christian food mission: helping those in need in laurel, ms - counsel of...

8/12/2019 1993 Issue 3 - The Christian Food Mission: Helping Those in Need in Laurel, MS - Counsel of Chalcedon

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(The following article representsan excellent example of how Christianscan respond to needs in theircommunity without the interventionof governmental bureaucracy. Ithought you would enjoy and profit

from these real life messages. RobertSmithis founderandexecutive directorof he ChTistlanFoodMission. He is alsoa deacon at Wesoninster PresbyterianChurch in Laurel, MS. You mightwrite to encourage or support him atP.O. Box 2422 Laurel, MS 39442.-The Editor)

From the very beginning God hashad His hand on this work and, Ibelieve, He is not finished with it yet.Let me begin by sharing somethingimportant I recently came tounderstand about myself.

Frequently I have contemplatedwhat it is that causes me to be soabsorbed by this work of compassionwhich has been, at once, a challenge tomy abilities and a test of my faith. Ihavestrnggled within myselfto developa complete, concise answer. Of lateGodhas given me new insight into thatanswer.

n the last day in November I wasfound deeply engrossed in the plot ofLes Miserables, the classic novel byVictor Hugo. I had gotten to page 279that afternoon. As the story progressedHugo vividly described the scene ofMarius standing on his bureau peeringthrough a hole in the plaster near hisceiling. From this vantage point he

was able to clearly view the interior ofthe apartment next door. Heobservedthe singular and dishonest activitiesoftheJondrette familywho occupied theroom. The poverty stricken familyhad reduced themselves to scheming

and crime to earn their bread and rent.Martus, throughhis peephole, standingin the darkness of his room, witnesseda series of peculiar, planned events 'played in succession before him in theJondrette apartment. He stood forhours troubled, horrified, uneasy,uncerta.in, outraged, perplexed,curious, attentive but unable to bringhimself to intervene in the humandrama which unfolded.

Ihave felt as Marius. I have had themost extraordinary opportunity tostudy human nature in case after caseand have been unable to pull myselfaway from the human dramas whichunfurl. I also have felt the same sweepof emotions that Marius felt before hispeephole.

The only difference is that LesMiserablesis fiction (though uncannilytrue-to-life in ts characterizations) andwhat I have experienced is real. In theworld of fiction we cannot intervenebut in the real world we can intervenefor the cause of Christ. In f ct we arecommanded to intervene.

TH FAITHFUL OLDTH FAITHLESS YOUNG

On the evening of October 1 I hadthe opportunity to speak at a men's

2 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon April, 1993

meeting held at Audubon Drive BibleChurch. I shared events whichoccurred on the previous day.

BettyDavishad delivered Route 4on Wednesday. When she arrived atthe apartment of Mrs. ChristineWallace on Arco Lane she found thelady lying in her floor. Next Mrs.Davis called the mission to informBecky Hill of the situation; Beckyimmediatelydrovethe fewblocks southof our bUilding. When she enteredMrs. Wallace's apartment the elderlywoman was on the couch having aterrible seizure. Ruby Young, anotherCFM volunteer, held Mrs. Wallace inher anns as they all awaitedthe arrivalof an ambulance.

Mrs. Wallace later died at thehospital.

It was unhesitatingly reported tous, by those who knew Mrs. Wallace,that she had died a Christian woman.Alberta Spinks, who delivers onMondays, knewher as a sistermemberof pleasant Valley Missionary BaptistChurch.

Mrs. Wallace had suffered withsevere physical problems for many,many months but her faith sustainedher.

The same afternoon as Mrs.Wallace's seizure I read a front pageartic1ein the LaurelLeader-Call abouta trial which was interrupted at theCourt House by a bomb threat. It wasnot the bomb threat which interestedme but the drug tri l mentioned in theprocess.

One of the defendants, Mark, wassomeone I knew personally. I knewMark because he had eaten in ourdining hall numerous times. Duringthe holiday season of 1989, shortlybefore Christmas, I had a longconversation with him over lunch. Heconfessed he had a drinking problemand was on parole for theft at the tim,e,In my presence he wept because he


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didn't hav e the mo n ey to buy his littlegirl a bicycle for Christmas. It just so"happened" a family had donated agirl's bike (of all things) to themission.I retrieved the bicycle from the backroom and, to Mark's, surprise gave ittohim.

In the spring of 1991 I ran acrossMark in a Laurel restaurant where Ihad been invited for lunch by friends.Mark was our waiter.

In August of this year I met Markagain-in our parking lot. He waspal1h ll1dlil1gfor a me al. Mark and twoofh is friends had lunch at the missionthat day. He had told me honestly,"People have tried to help me but Idon't do right... I need religion, yea Ineed religion."

Now I was reading in October ofMark, and another man, "The juryfound the twomen guilty of he chargesof possession of cocaine and conspiracyto distribute cocaine."

In my conclusion at the men'smeeting. havingcitedJob29, I reponedthat the elderly who suffer arecommonly sustained by their faith (asMrs. Wallace) while so many of theyounger people we see do not exhibitthat same faith (as Mark) and cannotdeal with their struggles. For somereason(s) the faith of the elderly hasnot been passed to their grandchildren.

DELI IOUS C KE ND GOOD CRY

On the morning of October 30 Ihad the opportunity to speak beforethe teachers and students of thePresbyterian Christian School. Beforereceiving the canned goods they hadcollected 1 old them of deliveringmealsto the elderly.

I thought of lonely Mrs. P on HoyRoad who invariably asks me, "Won'tyou come in? I'd love to have you ifyou have the time." [Leroy andMaureen Jensen, who deliver onMondays, were so pleased to learntheir old acquaintance was receiving

our meals.) I thought of nearlybed-bound Mr. ] also on Hoy Road,who always yells from his bedroom,when greeted with lunch , in a gravellyvoice, "Okay put it on the table." [Hewas referred to us by his concernedneighbor and Tuesdayvolunteer - AliceAllen.)

I thought of other elderlyindividuals who receive our meals anddecided to mention some of our oldestclients to the students and share a littleabout Mr. P on Sharon Road. Hiscircumstances had left a lastingimpression on my mind. Mr. P livedalone in a house trailer behind hissister's home. He had multipleoperations on his legs and back andwas quite unsteady on his feet. For

years Mr. P's sister had cared for himbut her health had begun to deteriorate.After we learned of Mr. P's need fordelivered meals I discovered thatCharolette Covington, who deliversmeals on Thursdays, knew the familywell and verified their struggles.

Mr. P received our lunches forthree-and-a-half months before hebecameablessingto me. FredLeonard"happened" to acquire several donated

birthday cakes from Sunflower onOctober 13 as he made his usualgrocery store picks-ups. I asked Beckyto check our routes in order to findwhether anyone had a birthday on thatparticular day . One person did, Mr . Pon Sharon Road.

Mr. P thanked me for the cake and,as tears welled up in his eyes, he spokewith controlled emotion, "I didn't thinkanybody knew it was my binhdayexcept me ." He received the cake onTuesday.

On Thursday Mr. P explained tome that the next day would be his lastto receive our meals. He was enteringa nursing home the follOwing Mondaymorning. Mr. P's sister was scheduledto enter the hospital for surgery on thesame day. He was noticeably shaken

and saddened. Buford Robinson, whodelivered lunches to Mr. P onWednesdays, has visited Mr . P in thenursing home and taken a specialinterest in him .

WILL WORK FOR FOOD OR C SH

On the afternoon of November 19

I had the opportunity to share anunusual experi ence at the monthlymeeting of our Board of Directors. Iwill share with you more of the detailsof my involvement with the family inquestion than I shared with thedirectors. Be assured tha t everything Ireport is true I keep notes).

My first encounter with Vicki wason October IS, 1986. She was referredto CPM by a church in centr al Laurel

for assistance. Vicki explained thather husband, Fred, had lost his jobwith Magcobar about a month earlier.The family, which included their threegirls, was in dire straits. [I worked inthe oil industry for three years. I t ustso "happened" that I had a friend whowas laid off from Magcobar about thesame time , so the story was extremelycredible.) I was very sympathetic totheir situation and extremely generousin my food assistance to them.

For some reason, the next day Icalled Magcobarto checkout their story.Fred, I was told, had never worked atMagcobar. Vickihadlied. Iwasoutraged.

On ay 7, 1990 Vicki re-appearedbearing a letter of referral , from achurch in south Laurel, asking that herfamily be assisted with groceries. I hadcompletely forgotten them . Membersof the sponsoring church were very

concerned over the needsof

he familywith three girls who were members ofno church . I interviewed Vicki andfilled out a brief application as usual. Idiscovered the family could not affordto purchase food due tounemploymentbut could afford to pay for cabletelevision I also caught Vicki in a liebut said nothing about it.

April, 1993 t l1lE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ 21


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As I collected the items to fill abanana box full of groceries for thefamily I ' hoped the church couldminister to them. I was uncertain.

Vicki did not return until August15, 1991. She declared her husbandhad left her and the children, and they

were in desperate need of food. Aspromised she worked to earn a week'ssupply of groceries at CFM on thefollowing day. Vicki completed an8-hour day under my supervision. Iwas attentive.

On September 2 (a Wednesday) ofthis year Vicki presented herself again ,to ask for more groceries. She agreedto work the follOwing day, after whichI would pay her with groceries.

She never showed up.The following week, on September

7 (a Monday), Vicki dropped a letteron my desk from a different churchand stood before me with anotherfemale ather side. Iaskedwhyshehadnot shown up for work as agreed . Shesnapped, "I was sick. I couldn't work."I reminded her of our procedure andinformed her that I could not acceptthe letter because she would have to

stay wi th one church . Vicki was angry,"They (pointing to the letter) told meyou'd give me groceries : I asked, "Didyou tell them you d already been to1 She yelled, "Look, Robert Smith, meand my kids don t have no food,notbingl" The air was tense, my heanbeat hard and fast, the unidentifiedfemale took it all in. I continuedtensely, "I've explained to you beforehow this works. f you need groceriesyou or some member of your family

can work for them. f I do anythingdifferent I'll have to get permiSSionfrom the church."

That set her off . She yelled at meseveral times, pointed her finger, and"demanded" 1 help her NOW. Beforeleaving she screamed, I'll call the lawon you Robert Smith." Her friendfollowed quietly behind her. Whew

I was troubled and uneasy after thisscene.

The following information is whereI picked up the story wi th the Board ofDirectors. Yes, there is more.

It was an overcast morning onNovember 1. A lightrain had already

fallen as I drove south on 16th Avenue.I had taught a Sunday School class atCovenant Presbyterian Church on"tomp3ss1onate Ministry" and was onmy way to worsbipwithmy own familyat our home church.

On my r ight I surveyed anunexpected scene in front of Ecker d's.A bearded man stood on the grassyshoulder of the street holding ahand-made sigu which read Will

WorkForFoodorCash." Onablanketspread beside bim sat his .cbildren (Iassumed). I passed them withoutslOwing down.

In church I sat with my familyunable to concentrate on anythingother than the man with the sign. Isoon slipped from my seat, hurried toour car, maneuvered the parking lot,and turned onto 16th Avenue again.The man was still holding bis sign; thethree girls were still on the blanket. Ientered the Eckerd's parking lot andcame in behind them. When I steppedup to the group, a woman I had not 'noticed quickly buried her face in her ,hands as she slumped forward on theblanket. It was too late, I hadrecoguized Vicki.

I entered into a brief conversationwith the bearded man. When I askedhis nirrne he said, "Fred ." I had neverseen bim before, but had always spokento Vicki. I asked what type of work hedid and got the answer, "mostlypainting." I told biro I could not workhim on Sunday but if he warned toearn groceries he could work the nextday at the Christian Food Mission.Unexcited he asked, "What time? Itold bim to be there at 8 o'clock.

Fred did not show up.

22 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t April, 1993

On the morning of November 17 Iwas completely caught off guard bythe coup le. Shonly after 8 o'clock Iwas on the telephone speaking tosomeone at Mill Creak Church of God,about some food to be donated, whenFred and Vicki entered the front door.

I was uneasy. I finished mytelephone conversation and went intothe dining hall to speak with them.They wanted to know if they couldwork for groceries(1 ) . I asked Fredwhyhe didn't showup forworkbefore.He explained, I got a job helping aman in Sharon: I turned to Vicki andreminded her that the last time I askedher to work she got angry and yelled atme. She looked at the floor and said,I shouldn't have done that." I left

their presence to call the church toinform them of the couple's requestand give myself time to think. (Theday before, the very day before, I hadread the ankle in the "Laurel LeaderCall" about the elderly man whostopped to pick up a man on 16thAVenue with a "will work for food"sign. The man raked his yard and thenate supper at bis benefactor's homebefore holding a knife to his throatand

forcing the elderly man to drive bim toMeridian.) I got no answer at thechurch .

I appeared from behind thepartition and explained to Fred andVicki that I already had one personwho had mad e arrangements to workthe day. Uackie, a referral of FirstBaptist Church in Laurel, was alreadyat work cleaning turnip greens .) I toldthe two that I could not get the church

but if one' of them would like to stayfor the day I was sure it woutd be fine.In return for the work I assured themof a week's supply of food.

This decisionsetmed to cause thema problem. They looked at each other.Vicki said, Do you want to work?"Fred said, Do you 1" Vicki again, "Itdoesn't matter to me. Fred again, "It


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doesn't make me no difference." Theywent back and forth as I listened.

Finally I said, "Look, I've got to goin the back and help get things out forlunch. Ya'U decide what you want todo apd whoever stays can come in theback." From the cooler Becky and I

removed turkey(donated the previousday by the Association for theAdvancement of Retired Persons anddelivered by Tuesday volunteer LewisWinn and his wife Jane), broccoli,etc . for lunch. When \ returned to thedining room Fred and Vicki weregone. Gone

\ was perplexed (but relieved).

\ was Marius at the peephole.

N UNUSU L CHURCHIN NOTHER CITY

On the Tuesday beforeThanksgiving I had the opportunityto speak at the jOint Thanksgivingservice ofMt. Zion United MethodistChurch, Plainway Baptist Church,West Laurel Baptist Church, and WestLaurelUnitedMethodistChurch. Theservice was held at West LaurelMethodist. A special collection wastaken for the Christian Food Mission.

I was asked to speak briefly to thegathering and took the opportunity toread a story, a true story, to thecongregation. To introduce the piece1 explained that I had listened to aborrowed tape and heard the narrativeon the cassette tape while deliveringmeals. I had listened to the littlenarrative acouple of imes and decidedto copy it onto paper. Perhaps thisintersesting and true story would helpto motivate someone to becomeinvolved in our mission or beginanother ministry of outreach to othersin need.

Here is the text as recounted by Dr.R.]. Rushdoony, word for word:

"In a certain city there were twoyoung men who came out of the Navy

and felt a calling to be pastors. And sothey started a ministry in a very poorpan of town. They found an oldbuilding where they could holdservices. They began a ministry therewhich included a Christian school.They started getting funds together forthe project. The city was going toclose down their building because itdidn't meet code on anything becauseit was so substandard, in such a baddisarray as far as repairs wereconcerned. This congregation, by theway, is 113 Hispanic,ll3 Black,and3 White. The two pastors are black.

\ told Dorothy, y wife, that Iwanted her to go with me, that I feltshe'd find it very interesting. Well,she said cultural shock would be amild word for what that experiencewas and she sat in the front; she alwaysdoes, and she was crying all the waythrough the service because she saidthese were poorer people than she'dever known and in her days of nursingshe'd worked in a hospital in a verypoor area. And one after another gotup in a praise service to thank the Lordfor having blessed them with so manythings. These people were going

around and scrounging at clothingstores for clothes off the rack thatstayed there two or three years. Theyhad a give-away program of clothing.They had a food program; they wentto wholesale houses and got damagedcases and cartons.

"Well, I'd worked hard and raisedjust a few thousand to help them withrenovating their building so they couldmeet the code. They saw a building

downtown that had been vacant foryears and the city wanted i t condemned and tom down and theybought it. Made a downpayment on itand were opening it that afternoon tohouse the street people who slept indoorways and ally ways . And theywere going to start things off with a bigfeed ...

"Those two young men who areliving on the ragged edge of nothingare doing remarkable things. I tellthat story, 1 could tell of much moreambitions programs. But if they cando it why can't we? And its a programin which evelymemberis involved in.It 's no wonder it's such a radiantchurch. To this day i I start tellingsomebody the story my wife startscrying she's so deeply moved. Shesays she's never seen anything like it.And if he Lord can do that with thosepeople he can do a lot more with youif you're ready to be used."

LE DERSHIP JONES

COUNTY ELIVERS

During the noon hour onDecember 2 I had the opportunity tospeak to this year's participants inLeadership Jones County (a programof the Jones County Chamber ofCommerce). The participants, some20 people, returned for lunch in ourdining hall after they delivered mealson three of our seven routes.

Utilizing vans on this windy day,volunteers Tom Holder (route # nAlvin Lingenfelter (route # 2), andChris Posey (route # 3 motored theparticipants to the homes of he elderlywho receive meals. This was tofamiliarize our guests with the plightof some of our poor and elderly in theLaurel area.

Following lunch Chris Poseyallowed me time to share a little aboutthe ministry. Chiis asked me to explainwhat we had done for Thanksgiving.

VictorJones,Jr., withtheAmericanRed Cross, had called to ask i wecould prepare meals for the tornadovictims of the Sylvarena - Taylorsvillearea. I agreed to mobilize some of ourpeople and do so.

On Wednesday, the day beforeThanksgiving ,we prepared a hot lunchfor 500 (plus our usual shut-ins) anda hot dinner for 500. The Red Cross

April, 1993 TIl COUNSEL of Chalcedon 23


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supplied large red insulated chestswhich we filled with food The chestswere then picked up at our back doorand delivered to the affected areaswhere the food was served from threetrucks on site. On ThursdayThanksgiving Day , we prepared a

traditional lunch of turkey anddressing, english peas, fruit salad, anddessert for 500 (plus our shut-ins)and saw the food removed in thesame fashion as the previous day.

It was a gargantuan effort toprovide thatmanymealsof the qualitywe prepared. It required a lot ofpeople, a lot of food, and lllaIly hoursto produce those three meals in oursmall kitchen. Many people had a

hand in the work. I will not namethem ; the Lord knows them ll I amso grateful God gave us thisopportunity to serve Him in thisfashionandaidthosewhoexpenenceda tragedy.a .

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1993 issue 3 - the christian food mission: helping those in need in laurel, ms - counsel of...

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