Several time a year, Midwest Food Bank, partnering with Spread Truth Ministries, travels to New York City, NY, to deliver food and hope in the form of the gospel to those in need in the city. The mid-November trip is focused on distributing turkeys for Thanksgiving.
We sometimes wonder what effect (if any), this project has on the lives of those receiving the turkeys. Every so often, we get some feedback that encourages us to "keep on" which were are sharing here. The following email was sent by Pastor Dan Bowman of the Queens Tabernacle Church to one of the participants on last year's mission trip:
Yesterday, as I was heading to church, I recognized a Chinese woman walking with her husband. They are the parents of a young college son that had come to our church for a Thanksgiving turkey. My wife, Yvonne, had advised me that this mother and father had been trying to reach me to speak with me. I greeted them and asked what I could do for them. This mother told me something I was not ready for. Their young college son that came to our church died of an accident when he fell at school and hit his head. With tears in her eyes she said, "Pastor Bowman, I will never see him again on earth. But I want you to know that he led us to the Lord and we are no longer Buddhist. We are saved Christians. Last year he came home from your church with a turkey and a bible saying that he is now a Christian. 'I invited Jesus into my heart. You, mommy and daddy, have to stop being a Buddhist. It's all about Jesus now.' And he prayed with us now we are believers. The reason why I am not your church member is because I need to hear the gospel in Chinese language so I can ask questions in Chinese."
Although this is a sad story and we all cried, we were overjoyed that God has given them His peace and it started with a turkey!
Giving that turkey gave this young man an opportunity to hear the gospel and because of that turkey giving he has received eternal life and he became a blessing to his family. His mom told us because he received Christ, they will see him again one day!
Glory and praise to God and Jesus, our Savior! What a blessing to hear how this family was touched. "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9