The Little Things

We've all heard at some point that it's the little things that matter most. How true that can be. It doesn't necessarily take a sonnet or a thank you note the length of a small novel to express your feelings or your thanks. Sometimes it's about taking a minute to write a short heartfelt thank you like the following messages.

We received the first one from a young mother of 3 who receives a food box and baby supplies on a monthly basis. Thank you K.J. for your "Thank You"
" Mr.Joel you have been so wonderful and careing and loving . You have helped my family so much . You remind me so much of my grandpa, Happy father's day"

The next message is also from a young single mom of 3. Thank you N.N. for your "Thank You."

"thank you very much for helping me an my children..it means so much. without your help i dont know what i would do..you're a very special man in my book...god does make good men and you have a good heart..thank u so much for helping me an my kids..happy fathers day to a wonderful and caring man.."

Making a difference, one family at a time.

TBT- The Hand Loading Days

Frozen boxes, freezing rain, and long lines of cars. These classics were taken in 1999 passing out cases of frozen goods in the parking lot of the Campus Twin (another throw back) opposite Fred's on Middle Tennessee Blvd. It always seemed to be cold when we did something like this... but at least those biscuits stayed frozen!

Hand Written Thanksgiving

This sweet note comes from a couple whom we also have the pleasure of attending church with. They are such a great example of selflessness. A friend of Sue's came up to one of our staff members at one of our Thanksgiving Basket giveaways to tell us what a small world it is. She told us that she had called Sue, knowing of Sue and Ole Man's struggles with money, earlier in the evening to tell her that she had heard of place giving away food baskets for Thanksgiving. She had offered to bring Sue along so that she might also get a food basket, but Sue turned the lady down and said that she had already made a commitment to help with a ministry at church that night. Of course when the lady arrived at Harvest View Church, where we were distributing the baskets, the first people she saw working were Ole Man and Sue.

I'm sure it almost goes without saying that Ole Man and Sue went home with their own Thanksgiving meal after helping that night, and fast forwarding a year and half later Ole Man and Sue are doing better financially and haven't needed as much assistance with food.
 Don't you just love stories like this?

Texting- The new Thank You note.

Sometimes in ministry one is amazed by the things people say and the way they act, and sometimes that amazement even comes from something good. At Jesus's Helping Hands we use call, voicemail, and text to schedule times for families to pick up their food boxes. We recently received the following text from a lady who has been receiving food for some time. A medical condition impares her ability to work making her available (although with limited means) to raise her 4 grandchildren. It's moments like this that remind us what a difference a box of food can make. "Jesus' Helping Hands) I want to thank everyone there that is involved in this organization. It really means the difference on alot of days as to having just enough to eat or having another dish with dinner. So i do want you ALL to know that the effort and love you all put forward is truly appreciated in out home.. now that we only have one income, it is almost impossible to have enough food after the bills are paid. And sometimes just getting the bread or the fruits and vegetables is really nice because the perishable goods always run out before the end of the month.. Again THANK YOU JESUS HELPING HANDS :-) J.C. and my family.. Just to let y'all know how much y'all mean to us." Thank you J.C. for this thoughtful message and for reminding us of why we do what we do.