Serving the needy in Enterprise

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. It's a special day set aside to thank God for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon us. It's a day to spend with family and give thanks together. We eat turkey, dressing and/or stuffing, and a number of other sides, then finish off the meal with pumpkin, sweet potato or pecan pie, or a heaping helping of bread pudding.

While that's reality for many of us, unfortunately, it's only a dream for many others. That's why on Thanksgiving Day, Martha and I enjoy serving others.

This Thanksgiving Day, Martha and I joined two of our favorite people - Gene and Leslie Oden - and their church to serve the needy in Enterprise, Ala. Gene is the lead pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Enterprise. He preached at our Love In Action Thanksgiving service on Tuesday night. Crossroads' praise team led worship at our Thanksgiving service as well. Crossroads is a great church with a heart for the homeless and the poor.

This was the second year that Crossroads provided Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and needy of Enterprise. Martha and I arrived in time to help pack to-go plates and load them in the back of pickup trucks. Then we followed a caravan to an impoverished Hispanic neighborhood where we handed out more than 200 plates of food.

To see the smiles on the faces of the children and to hear the gratitude in the voices of the adults made our Thanksgiving.

We talked with many people. I don't know a lot of Spanish, but I downloaded a translator app on my Blackberry to help with basic communication. However, there were plenty of people who spoke English.

The first house Martha and I visited was an old camper trailer where an 85-year-old man named Tony lived. He lived alone with his two cats. As he smoked his Antonio Y Cleopatra cigar, he told us about his cats, and how he liked to watch Catholic Latin Mass on TV. He smiled as he talked and thanked us for his dinner.

There are many people like Tony who are alone. To make a difference, all it takes is for someone to visit them, talk with and listen to them, give them a meal, smile and let them know that God loves them.

Martha and I thank God for Gene and Leslie Oden and Crossroads. It's people like them who are making a difference in their communities. It was an honor and privilege to join Crossroads on Thanksgiving Day.