Week: April 24th-28th

Soup Production: 1,350,000+ servings

Quilts: 26

What a privilege to serve alongside Arbor Road Church (Long Beach, CA), Bethany Church (Long Beach, CA), Good Shepherd Presbyterian (Los Alamitos, CA), and Victoria Alliance Church (Victoria, BC), packing up over 1,350,000 servings of soup and 26 new quilts. Thank you to all of our short and long-term volunteers for your faithful service to the Lord, helping to feed and care for hungry people.

LOVE FEAST: SPEAKER TONY GSCHWEND

“Where should I go next? It’s not just a question for [missionaries]. It’s a question for all of us.” Tony Gschwend, from Switzerland, was our guest speaker at our Love Feast this week, and he encouraged each one of us to find a quiet place—free from distraction—and listen with expectation, because the Lord will be faithful to give us direction and answer our cries.

“God clears the wax of the world out of the ears of man.” How many of us feel like we have wax in our ears and cannot hear clearly because of all the busy things the world is telling us?

“There is no shortcut to going with a quiet heart to a quiet place for a quiet time,” Tony said. With all of our screens and distractions, we find it harder and harder to find a quiet place. “Seek him early. Do it in the morning.”

Tony encouraged us to be like the prophet Habakkuk and go to the Lord with great determination and expectation. “Are we expecting to hear from the Lord? Come to the Lord with expectation … God makes true on his promises each and every time.”

Habakkuk, just three short chapters, is very relevant for our time, showing us how history repeats itself, and how the Lord promises to redeem the righteous and the oppressed.

Tony also shared why he loves to come back to Gleanings for the Hungry time and time again. “Gleanings has a special place in my heart. My daughter serves on staff here. My best friend is director here … We are all winners here because the one who serves is always the winner.”

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:18