Saturday with Friends

Today I spent time loading these red boxes onto Red Cross trucks. There were three separate rows of boxes - one held the main dish (lunch = spaghetti; dinner = chili), one held the vegetable (beans/potatoes), and the third row held the dessert (pudding/fruit). The Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams prepared the foods and loaded it into the boxes. Then Hands-On Nashville volunteers loaded the assigned boxes into the assigned Red Cross vans. These vans then went all over Nashville to deliver food to people affected by the recent flooding. We were told that 8000 people were fed a hot meal for lunch and dinner.

I worked with people I didn't know before today. Our supervisor was from Kingsport and told us about all the different teams the TBC Disaster Relief has, from chainsaw teams to mud teams to the feeding unit that we were working with. He told us how he uses his vacation and unpaid leave from his work to go wherever needed. He told us how this team is sleeping in the church and showering in shower trucks - just to help people in need. It was pretty awesome.

Equally awesome was Joni, who was a fellow volunteer. She happened to be in Nashville on business this week, and volunteered with Hands On Nashville. She stayed over a few days just to work with us today, and drove home to Atlanta later this evening.

Today I met some pretty great people from Alabama, North Carolina, and other parts of Tennessee. I saw Red Cross workers cook huge vats of food, empty hundreds of cans of food, and clean and sanitize everything that needed cleaning and sanitizing. I saw a lady help drivers back into the spot for loading, I saw another lady stand in a trailer so she could wash the laundry of other Red Cross workers, and I saw people loading and unloading and hauling whatever was needed. I worked with a woman whose birthday party is tonight and another woman who has a test coming up (and needs to study for). I worked with a group of people who loaded trucks in the rain.

It was great because we all knew we were doing something significant. But the best part was the feeling of everyone there. Although many of the Red Cross and TBC teams had been working long hours for many days, they still had great spirits and smiles on their faces. And even though the food would seem to be the main thing being given away, it is the caring spirit and concern of all those working that truly makes a difference in someone else. I know it did for me.

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Things that make today great: volunteering at the food center; McD's Big Mac dinner