Grace Point! May 2015 | Page 14

ure of he pleas I had t this eeting m oman in esome w aw f 2012, ember o utual Dec a m through ance. acquaint warm, has a She heart athetic symp o are hose wh nce for t and, o ungry h s her e taste y anyon ds, the ked goo r life! ba ed fo are hook PPM: How did the concept of a soup kitchen come to you? In the winter of 1996, I saw in the news a number of situations that started me thinking about the possibility of needs in our County (Haywood). I was really not out in the community much due to working long hours in our bakery, which, by the way, gave us plenty to eat and, for me, most of the time more than I needed!! I realized we were so well blessed. So many friends had helped us along the way, and I needed to “give back” in some way. These thoughts kept persisting, through my morning devotions, through sermons, through Bishop Tullis’ Sunday School lessons and, I feel, thru God’s leading. I would think about it real strongly for a while, then get extra busy and let it drop til Sunday morning, and then be reminded at least twice through the services! Finally, one Sunday the sermon was written just for me. I told Rob (Fuquay) on the way out that I had to talk with him. He came on Wednesday and we had a long conversation. He really did not know much about the needs in the county as he had only been there a short time. I need to say here that I was thinking VERY small!!!! I had in mind perhaps making pots of soup and maybe distributing it thru Haywood Christian Ministries or some other means. At that point Rob didn’t know how to get it to the people who needed it, either. BUT, his vision was much