We volunteered with CityTeam Ministries' meal service yesterday. Our foursome joined a group of 7 youths -- 6 guys proudly asserting their iGeneration coolness with sk8er tees and Zac Efron do's, and a lone girl who beamed at everyone with bright eyes and a muted smile.We got instructions from Pedro, a chilled Latino in his late-50s who spends his afternoons ministering to the homeless on the less gentrified streets of the Mission; and Kelly, with the faraway look who bears a striking likeness to The Edge from U2, right down to the knit cap. Both men were formerly from the streets themselves and now in CityTeam's recovery program.
To the >100 weathered and weary faces who came for dinner, we served up sausages; mashed potatoes; garlic bread; a multicolored vegetable salad; chocolate-glazed donuts or whole nectarines for dessert; and ice water or chocolate milk to wash it all down. When we announced that there was enough leftover for seconds, the room murmured with resounding approval. Some couldn't wait for the youth volunteers to bring them a freshly-laden plate, and eagerly charged towards us with personalized orders: "Double the mashed potatoes and no salad, please"; "Can I get a coupla more sausages? For my dog waiting outside."
There was the blond headbanger guy with the nose ring, engaged in a continuous self-monologue. And the round-faced Asian girl in the oversized camo jacket, who darted askant glances at her dining companions while peeling three oranges, then shoved each one wholly into her mouth as if expecting them to be stolen from her. And then there was the scene involving Mike:
Mike had lingered longer than the others. After picking his plate clean, he pulled out a well-used plastic bag from his backpack as he acknowledged a volunteer's offer to bring him a second helping. When the plate arrived, he didn't dive into it like most others did. Instead, he stealthily scraped its contents into the plastic bag -- sausages, mashed potatoes, salad,...everything. He then loitered at his seat, examining the ceiling, the table, and his surroundings, until most of the room had cleared. That's when he sidled up to the counter. "What's left?" he asked with a wink. "One big scoop of mash and some salad," I replied. "Can I have it?" He was holding his plastic bag open in anticipation. I carefully added the remaining food to the colorful mush in the bag that would be his next meal.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Corinthians 12:26
