Happy Thanksgiving! This is a recap of Thanksgiving last year, but it's what we're doing again today! I hope you have a wonderful day and are feeling very blessed. I am.
My in-laws decided that instead of hosting a regular Thanksgiving dinner for "only" 9-14 people at their home, they'd host a dinner at their church for 150 people who might not otherwise get a Thanksgiving dinner.
These simple centerpieces are black beans and votives in mason jars of various sizes were on the rest of the tables.
I think it looks simple and welcoming!
Here is my mother-in-law, preparing salads for the guests.
She planned and organized for weeks ahead of time so Thanksgiving Day ran smoothly.
There were many volunteers from the church who came to help out instead of staying home with their families.
Look at all that food! Church members and local businesses donated everything!
A dentist from town even showed up that morning saying he was there to help. He warmly welcomed people in the lobby and disappeared without eating a crumb.
Here is a group from the rehab center enjoying the meal. They clapped for us and told us how nice it was to be treated like humans. I'm not telling you for the accolades, but so we can all realized how much we have to be thankful for!
The people standing in this picture are church members who acted as servers, bringing people hot cider, salad and pies. That really helped those of us serving in the kitchen!
We (and I say that only because I helped; this was all the organizing of my in-laws!) also sent meals to the jail and the police station. As the day wound down, we realized we had a lot of food leftover, so my father-in-law called the jail and asked if they would like seconds for supper! We dished up more and sent it out. Someone told him when he delivered the food, "It's so nice to know there are people out there who care." Doesn't that make it all worthwhile?!
I hope you and your family had a nice Thanksgiving. We're definitely planning to do this again! What a blessing we all received by blessing others who are less fortunate.
Ellie- What a wonderful, wonderful thing to do for Thanksgiving! Love to you and your sweet family- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful! What a great organizer your MIL must be. I can't believe you had the energy to stop by my blog and leave your nice message after what must've been a tiring day. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! We always volunteer at the church dinner just before Christmas. They allow kids as young as 8 to help out with napkins and silverware, so WD has been helping out for a long time. I think it's amazing that your in-laws organize the whole thing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful and refreshing. In high school and college we used to serve dinner at halfway houses. It was a gift in and of itself to talk to the very grateful residents and hear their testimonies. So wonderful of you all!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for leaving me a note today, it really is encouraging to hear from readers. Not only does it help me believe people actually read it, it allows me to follow you back and see awesome posts like this one! :)