Last night, I volunteered with some friends at the Oregon Food Bank packing 3 lb bags of frozen corn on the cob that'll get distributed to individuals and families in need around Oregon. All together, we helped bag and box 16,711 lbs of corn in about 2 hours.
Today, I spent the morning helping out at St. Philip's Thanksgiving dinner after mass (I especially enjoyed Fr. Bill's story about Sister Jose Hobday during the homily). Even though I was mainly just serving food, getting people something to drink, and clearing empty dishes, I got a chance to talk to a lot of nice people who didn't have anywhere else to go and/or no one to eat with.Most seemed to really appreciate having a place to go and the generosity of everyone that made it all possible; and a lot appreciated the company, except the one guy who chastised us for over-serving the table. It was a great experience. It also made me thankful for the friends and family that I have and sometimes take for granted and forget to thank because I get so caught up in myself.
As much as I think about giving my time to help others, the more I reflect on the spirit of Mt 25:31-46, the more I'm inspired to actually do it. Plus, it kind of feels good doing something to help others. I think my heart grew half a size these past two days.
I didn't really get a chance to take any pictures myself, so the one from the Oregon Food Bank is from my friend Chris and the two from St. Philip are courtesy of Fr. Michael via Facebook. I took the liberty of using them because I'm hiding in there somewhere.
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