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 Tuesday
night, December 12, the ice started falling out of the skies. At first,
it was a beautiful sight with a light coating of ice over the trees and
the cars. Flowers spread their petals to be encased in an icy cocoon,
and outside Christmas lights sparkled as they threw their light through
their icy coats. Children were out playing and squealing and having a
great time until it was time to come into a warm home, have a good
supper and then climb into their warm, cozy beds.
However, when
morning came, 250,000 Arkansans had no power, and the beautiful lights
of the night before were now just indistinct objects coated with a
deadly layer of ice. Arkansas had been hit with the worst ice storm in
her history. The warm homes had become cold, dark and in some cases,
deadly. Nearly two weeks later, some people were still without power to
heat their homes or cook their meals.
So what does this
have to do with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry? Everything!
Thousands of people across our state lost every bit of food they had
because of the power outages. Many of those people could not afford to
simply run to the grocery store and replace the spoiled food. Many of
them had already purchased the makings for their Christmas dinner, and
were now in a panic.
By the grace of God,
AFHFH was been able to provide over 20,000 meals to those who lost
everything. Some of our distributors and feeding agencies told me that
people who never had to apply for help before came to them for food for
Christmas. Brenda Blankinship, Director of Bradley County Helping Hands,
said she wished I could have been there as they handed out the food
packages that included fresh meat. She said that some people simply
broke down and cried when they get their food. I wish I could have been
there to experience such joy firsthand.
One of our
processors called me and said that he had five boxes of deer meat (300
pounds) ready to be picked up. I told him to be sure and send me the
invoice so we would pay him for the processing. He replied that he must
have lost that invoice, but he knew the boxes cost him $ 2.00 each, so
if we could send him $10.00 to pay for the boxes he guessed that would
be all he needed. Generosity like this is truly a glimpse of God’s great
mercy.
So Arkansas got hit
hard by the worst ice storm in its history, and a lot of people really
suffered. But in the middle of all the adversity, the trials and
tribulations, God's light was able to shine just a little brighter. By
the God’s grace, the good will of the people of Arkansas, the hunters,
and the processors, we were able to help put thousands of meals on
peoples’ tables by Christmas tables that year. AFHFH is proud to be able
to say that we are part of a national effort to help feed God's people.
To be able to participate in this effort when some people have lost
everything makes it even that much more humbling. |
