Week: October 10th-14th

by Souper | Oct 14, 2016 | Summer Staff

“Amazing!”

This seems to be our word of the week here at Gleanings; amazing fellowship, amazing work, amazing food, amazing music, but most of all, an amazing God!

This week we had the joy of serving with Wilshire Avenue Community Church from Fullerton, California, and what a time we’ve had! The Gleanings staff are always so blessed by Wilshire Ave, their amazing leader, El Roy Pankow, and the troupe of musical, humble, Christ-like, amazing people that he brings.

With their help, along with many Mission Builders, and Emma, a new backpacker from Spain, we produced 1.2 million servings of soup, many beautiful quilts, numerous freshly fixed pallets and trays, and plenty of amazing memories to last a lifetime, and beyond! Glory to our amazing God!

Week: October 3rd-7th

by Souper | Oct 7, 2016 | Summer Staff

Well, it’s Friday again, and what a week we’ve had!
Arbor Road Church from Long Beach and First Christian Church of Santa Maria were here with us, as well as some friends from Canada, Switzerland, China, and beyond.

We made new friendships, rekindled old ones, produced over 813,000 servings of dried soup, repaired many pallets and trays in the woodshop, and had a blast doing it! Praise God!

This week’s big excitement, however, was in the quilt room, where they produced 52 quilts, beating the previous record of 50 quilts made in one week. Way to go quilters!!

We had the privilege of closing this week together by praying over two containers being shipped out, one to Haiti full of peaches, and another to Greece, with 34 quilts made just this week, and several pallets of soup.

Thank you to our teams and volunteers, and all of you praying for us – to God be the glory!

Week: September 26th-30th

by Souper | Sep 30, 2016 | Summer Staff

Fall is a time of changes!

We loved having a team from Stockton here this week. It’s like a family reunion. It’s been so great to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones, over scoops of soup and garlic powder.

There are changes in the soup plant this season as Henrijs has taken over and is overseeing the work there. This week he calculated we made over 1,000,600 servings of soup.

The quilt room also reopened this week and they made about 37 quilts. We began the project of installing an overhead roof from the warehouse to the fumigation tunnels. We updated our landscaping by replacing Summer plants for Fall plants.  It’s been awesome to have Vicki and Bill back in the kitchen, and a blessing to have a crew from Teen Challenge caring for our lawns.

This team is very friendly and family oriented, so in the evenings by their initiative, there has been root beer floats and games for all ages. What a blessing for our community.

The theme of the ‘Body of Christ’ came up many times in Friday sharing time. People were encouraged to see and recognize that every job be it little or big matters. It’s like a puzzle, you can’t finish it if a piece is missing. This week people were filling the pieces by coming and serving alongside us.

We are encouraged how this season has started and are looking forward to what is yet to come.

Week: August 29th – September 2nd

by Souper | Sep 2, 2016 | Summer Staff

It’s the last week of summer season here at Gleanings. The nature tells us, it’s almost fall. But in the spiritual realm it’s been Spring time here all week.

The leader from the Won By One team shared that in the Bible there are many stories but they all have a common theme. It’s saying YES to God. It’s a choice but when you choose to say YES You Encourage the Spirit to move through you and take you on an adventure filled life with God.

This week there were many yeses. That means that the rains came and many new spring buds were starting to grow in people hearts. It’s been a week of celebrating new life in Christ.

This song was lived out this week:

It’s always like springtime with You, making all things new

Your light is breaking through the dark

Bringing joy, bringing life

You make me come alive

Lots of work was done to finish up the season. Major cleanups – cleaning the plant and forklifts, cleaning around the tray shed and organizing trays, emptying dorms, repainting some walls, making soup and of course finishing to bucket the last dried fruit. Great week with great people.

Thank you all who came to serve alongside us this Summer, without you we couldn’t do what we did. Your hands, prayers and financial support have been greatly appreciated and work done with excellence as unto the Lord. Thank you from all the Gleanings staff. Till next season…

Week: August 22nd-27th

by Souper | Aug 27, 2016 | Summer Staff

There are mixed emotions in the air at the last week of fresh fruit. We have been reflecting back on the Summer as a whole, and are excited, looking forward to the next season.

We started the week, still processing peaches, we heard the usual rumble of forklifts and the plant bell ringing once in a while, and laughter and joy in the midst of all the noise.  Wednesday came and a tear of sentiment came down my cheek as I took a picture of last peach bin being dumped.

On Thursday and Friday soup plant was filled with cheering sounds and the smell of garlic powder. Other work activities included Summer dorms being transformed back into their Winter mode. And I have a little news for all the quilters that come, the quilt room is getting a makeover, the old carpet wall has come down and fresh wooden pallet wall is going up with a fresh paint.

As I reflect on this Summer the scripture from Zechariah 8:12 come to mind:

“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.”

God has planted many people here this Summer. He has watered them, pruned them, and done His work in them – literally produced spiritual and physical fruit.  It’s not all over yet. It seems like the harvest has come, but there is more. We harvest what God produced and we continue to plant a new seed. There is still shipping the food, giving it to the hungry soul and seeing it grow and multiply from glory to glory.

It was an amazing summer with 2,000,000 servings of soup made, 6,000,000 Lbs. of fresh fruit processed, 420,000 Lbs. of dried fruit buckets, ready to be shipped by almost 1,000 volunteers. That’s one summer serving God here at Gleanings.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Week: August 15th-20th

by Souper | Aug 20, 2016 | Summer Staff

This week I sensed a great hunger to get to know God better, to know Him for who He is, to drink from the well of living water. People have been open to share their heart, open to learn more. And it hasn’t been a prideful or I know it all kind of thing, it’s been real and raw, and full of encouragement to grow together, to learn together. It felt like one big family that shares with each other, that listens to each other, and is there for each other. It wasn’t so much focused on our problems and struggles, as it was sharing the testimonies how God met us.  How I was tired but now I am filled with joy, I was lost but now I am found.

I think even though there was lots of hard work to be done, this week felt very restful. All the storms around us were quieted and peace, love, and joy surrounded this place and each individual.

I am reminded of the story of the prodigal son the part where the Father’s arms are wrapped around his son and the Father’s kisses are on his cheek and His robe of glory is upon his son as the feast of love begins. I think something shifted here this week, it was returning home kind of week and people felt that they are being embraced by the Father, and that He is speaking over them: ‘You are worthy!’ Week of celebrations and breakthroughs!

Blessed to be part of it!