Can I have some more?

Yesterday, Craig and I, along with our small group Bible study went to a soup kitchen downtown to serve food to homeless men. After a quick change into plastic gloves, apron and hair net, Craig was whisked away to the dish washing station and I was given a ladle.

The long line of men started outside and twisted down the stairs. It was relatively quiet in the small cafeteria, and all the smells associated with the homeless mixed with chicken soup. It was obvious the men waiting in line were accustomed to the drill; grab a tray, get a cup of soup and bread. 16 oz of soup and a slice of day-old bread was all we had to give them. As the men filtered past me, I noticed a few things.

They were polite.
Most said "thank you."
Quite a few asked for "no water" or "more meat" in their cup of soup.
Most requested a specific bread type, "Got any bagels? Pumpernickel? Raisin bread?"

Many came back for seconds, but we were told that we could not give them more food, despite the fact that we only went through half of the soup. I remember a younger boy, I guess about 12-13, maybe 14, saying "thank you" as we gave him his soup. I wonder why he was not in a children's shelter.

In less than half an hour, everyone was fed and the cafeteria was empty. I don't know where the men went or where they were going to sleep that night. They just disappeared. By the time we left the soup kitchen, there was no one around. We were in the soup kitchen less than an hour, from serving to cleaning. When it was all said and done, my small group decided to go get tacos. We didn't talk about the soup kitchen experience, rather we discussed the menu items. I don't really feel like we gave back to the community all that much, it was not a selfless act and frankly we could do more.

It was less than an hour of my time and 16 oz of soup.