Personal Testimonies

My golfing buddy and I started volunteering at Kitchen of Hope over 20 years ago and were assigned to an already existing team. After we had served only one time, our team leaders had to leave town and asked if we would take over that role. “But we don’t know how to do this!” Their response, “nothing to it; no worries “. So we started our journey. We had plenty of trials and errors but were supported by lots of great people along the way. We started out serving about 60 people and now serve 150-200 and, as it grew, so did we. KoH has been an amazing blessing in our lives, having seen many miracles happen there. More than once, we watched God miraculously stretch scarcity into another needed 20 servings, just like the wine at the wedding feast.

Our team is made up of new and old acquaintances who, like us, are looking for a place to serve others. During our time together we have experienced friendship, kinship with our community and the feeling of knowing we have had the opportunity to show love and kindness to a group who need to know they are worthy. At the end of the day we leave feeling tired, but oh-so-joyful.

One incident stands out to me as if it were yesterday. We had several whole cakes given to us and we wanted to share them with the patrons while they were still fresh. I noticed a lady standing in line crying and spoke to her asking what was wrong. “My sister died today”, she answered sadly. I immediately began to think of what I could do to make her feel better and was reminded of the cakes. “I am so sorry for your loss; would you like to take home a cake to share with friends and family in case they drop in this evening?” - not knowing whether she even had a home! I could sense how happy she was that someone had recognized her hurt and sympathized with her. She thanked me over and over. But I was the one who had received the blessing.

I will long remember an incident of kindness shown by 2 of our diners. A young severely handicapped man in his uncoordinated movements knocked over his drink spilling it all over himself and the floor. The two women on either side rushed to help him get cleaned up. One lady was known to often fly off the handle with most everyone within earshot; the other was a prostitute. Both not only wanted to help him, but also insisted on cleaning up the floor around him so that others walking by would not slip and injure themselves. They had and exhibited true compassion.

On a particularly cold day, a man had just gotten his meal and was immediately followed by a woman who also came for the same. Noticing her hands were red from the cold, he quickly took off his own gloves and gave them to her to warm her icy fingers, putting her needs before his own.

Because of renovation inside, we had to temporarily discontinue serving. Not wanting our friends to go hungry, our team decided to make sandwiches in our own church kitchen to distribute outside the KoH. After looking in all the refrigerators and freezers there and finding only three packages of lunch meat, I prayed, “please, God, could we get some lunch meat in this week’s food donation”. Would you believe we got an entire case of sandwich meat! God answered my prayer and, just like the “fishes and loaves”, we had plenty of sandwiches, all with a very generous layer of meat.

I recall a day when one of our regular patrons came bearing her normal very angry scowl and claimed her meal. But, this day, before she could walk away, I asked her to wait a minute. “Merry Christmas”, I said, handing her a bag of candy of her very own. I watched her face immediately change from angry to happy. I knew it wasn’t really the candy that made the difference; she was made to feel special.

While going through our serving line, a young man, maybe in his early 20’s, asked me if he could tell me his favorite Bible verse and recited one of the Beatitudes. In response, I asked “Could I share another Bible verse with you?”. He listened intently as I quoted another one of the Beatitudes and then asked me to repeat it, which I did. He got his food, turned and came back to me before sitting down, asking to hear it once again, obviously trying to memorize it. The eager young man returned after he finished eating and asked me to repeat it yet a 3rd time. I can’t help but wonder if those verses still remain in his heart.

One day, a 12-year-old boy arrived, all alone, to get food. I felt like I should give him one of the beautifully decorated birthday cakes that had been donated to us. When I handed the entire cake to him, he was thrilled, exclaiming, “How did you know today is my birthday?”. No doubt, this made his day and mine too. God knew it was his birthday.

My husband and I moved to Kingsport 15 years ago to support our son’s grieving wife and children after his sudden death. We knew only a couple of neighbors and very few members of our new church and felt very isolated in our grief. Someone at our church suggested that we might like to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. So, we took the plunge and never regretted it.

We found a new set of like-minded friends dedicated to serving hungry neighbors. Gradually, we stopped focusing on our own loss and directed our energies to helping our patrons endure their own challenges.

We found ourselves becoming spokespersons and recruiters for the Kitchen ministry and jokingly observed that whenever a potential volunteer was introduced to the Kitchen, he/she was easily “hooked” – it was nearly impossible to turn away.

Not only were we inspired by the volunteers with whom we served, but we were also moved by the kindness, gratitude and resiliency of our regular diners. We looked forward to seeing them and drew strength from their stories, which inspired us to continue this outreach even when we were tired, overwhelmed, or frustrated. Yes, as our bodies age and our energy levels drop, our love and support for the Kitchen of Hope has never waned. We pray for its continued success, for a new generation of volunteers, and for the people who so depend on this ministry.

More people than I can count who have come for food have remarked, “If you folks weren’t here feeding us, I would not have had anything to eat today”.