It's been a while since we've posted on the blog, and a lot has happened since February.
If we were to pick one thing to talk about tonight, it would probably be how this ministry has been affected by COVID - I think that's what a lot of people talk about.
2020 has been interesting, to say the least...then COVID came along and put it's own spin on things. After much prayer, we shut down for a short time, but never stopped working. We were concerned about our families and ourselves, but the ministry itself went on, as most things have. We continued to raise money because the bills definitely have not stopped :) and we continued to collect food in anticipating of providing for others asap.
We made some new contacts and have had folks contact us out of the blue about donating, fundraising, etc.
Susan, one of those who reached out to us, connected with Starbbucks in Mechanicsville, and has had huge success with a food drive. The manager at that store is Raven - stop by and give her a shoutout. Susan just kinda took the bull by the horns and has run with this. We hope to see more from her. :)
Another Susan recommended the pantry for a grant from Enterprise - and we got it! That was super exciting. We love getting checks in the mail and we love Susan. :)
We've kept in contact with some of the other local pantries and have watched them provide for the community and to be blessed with enough food to share with us, and others. They say it takes a village to raise a child - it also takes a village to care for those in need. We can't do it without the support of others...including these very generous and blessed pantries.
Our local county normally hosts a spring food drive through the schools. Since COVID closed schools, we could not do that drive, soooooo the money that the County would have spent on that will be split up amongst some of the food pantries. People never stop helping those who help others.
We are gearing up for a BBQ fundraiser on August 1st - Dane's secret BBQ sauce.
Pappy retired from his job of 32 years. After taking some well deserved time for himself, he will be able to give even more of himself to this ministry, so don't be surprised if you see him out and about. :)
We've learned some stuff about ourselves, about this ministry that God trusts us with, and we've learned stuff about others. All in all, we can't say that the pantry was adversely affected by COVID, but we can say that we've seen others affected....even us. It's caused fears and concerns that we never thought we'd see. Our children have been denied things that we previously took for granted - like a movie with a friend, going to school, and just socializing period. It's caused people to be afraid of people, afraid of going to the store, afraid of shaking hands or hugging. At the end of the day, we have to have Faith that God has this. He is in control always.
Good Night and God Bless
