A Fridge for the Homeless Food

What a wonderful day in the neighborhood !!   :)   (To quote Mister Roger  :)  ).

The first batch of Tuna Pasta Salad fed 44 (yes 44) people today & with some doctoring up of what is left I can fill the second pot up again to feed more on Monday.  I still have some more pasta left I can cook & on the way home this evening I stopped & purchased some more tuna.  :)  Still need some more mayo now.  With today, together we have fed 698 Homeless People !!  :)  I am sooooooooo happy !!  :)

And there was more great news today.  :)  
This afternoon I called Chris, the owner of  "Tucson Appliance Co." & asked if he would help me out with a used refrigerator/freezer for the food for the Homeless.  Chris said "YES"  :)  & for me to come by his store on Wednesday, he wanted to meet me.  He told me that it wouldn't be a pretty one, but that doesn't matter to me, as it goes into the garage anyway.  It needs to function well & that is important. 

Chris also said that I need to pick the fridge up in a truck.  So the next thing is to come up with two strong men with a truck.  Hmmmmm, at this point I can't think of anyone, but if there are any volunteers here in Tucson, please let me know at 326-2236.   :)   Help !!!!   :)

My next project is to rearrange my garage & figure out where to put the fridge so it is near a plug out there.

Good Night now - it is late here & I'm tired, but really happy !!  :)   More people have full bellies today, because of all of us !!  :)

Thank You !!

Dave & Linda thank you soooo much for once more providing all the food for this weekends meals !!  :) 
I don't know what I would do without all your loving help !!  I So Love You Two !!  You are some of the kindest people that I know & feel blessed by you !!  :)

Chicken & Pasta Salad

All of last week I was very sick with some sort of stomach "bug".  I was utterly nauseous all day & night too.  So now it is time to catch up on last weeks happening, which were so plentiful.  :)

First of all I would like to thank T-bird for caring so much & filling up my gas tank to the brim.  T-bird, this is the first time in a loooooong time that my car had a full belly.  :)  I so appreciate what you did !!

And my Lizzy donated money for food once more.  :)   You are awesome my friend, thank you & I Love You !!  

Catherine, my special friend in Illinois, sent a donation check last week.  Catherine, I know as a single Mom that wasn't easy for you & I am soooo grateful that you are helping me to feed the Homeless People !!  :)

Christina & Rich, friends of mine who live in Maine, also sent a wonderful donation check for food.  :)  Thank you both for your generosity & know that I am doing this for all of us !!  Many, many years ago Rich was my boss in Germany for close to two years.  He was the best boss I ever had & the most fun to work with.  :)  Love You Two !!

Mary Helen continues to support this mission & she sent another donation check a few days ago.  Thank you dearest Mary Helen for your kind words & your caring & for spreading the word about this with your friends !!   :)  You are precious to me !! 

And I also received a check in the mail from Rachel & Michael, my dear friends in Portland.  Thank you both for being you & for your loving support of my cause !!  :)   I am sending a great big hug to you both of you this way. 

These donations are soooo needed.  By feeding about 65 people per weekend now the money goes quickly.  And there is always a need to buy Styrofoam plates & bowls & plastic silver wear, along with paper towels as napkins.  :)  

Last weekend I fed 37 people on Saturday & another 28 people on Monday.  :)  Yeay !!   :)
The total fed so far is 654 in 4 months & one week.  :)   It is growing every week. 

It is amazing what can be achieved when caring people pull together to help others !!  :)   What gifts you all are to me to help out with this !!   :)   As they say, it takes a village to feed the Homeless. ;)   You all inspire me & keep me going with doing this. 

Now to toot my horn a little bit.  ;)   It is not easy to peel & chop 36 hard boiled eggs & shred 6 1/2 lbs. of boiled chicken to make pasta salad when one is utterly nauseous to ones stomach.  :)   At times the smell of it all made me run to the bathroom, but I know that the Homeless are waiting for me to bring dinner, so I did it anyway.  I  couldn't let them down & knowing that they would be hungry just was too hard for me to take.  So I went both days last weekend & got a lot of Love & Gratitude in return.  I am passing the Love & Gratitude on to all of you, my caring Friends !!  :) 

One of the Homeless, his name is Terry, always calls me "Miss Karin" & he is my "body guard" at times.  So now word is getting around that I am Miss Karin & I got to say I like it.  :)   It makes me feel like a Southern Belle.  ;)   A German Southern Belle.  ;)  

I still need a refrigerator/freezer for the Homeless food that gets donated, so I called our local Christie's Appliances store yesterday & spoke to the son of the owner.  Hopefully he will find one to donate, he said he was keeping his eyes out for one for me.  Please everyone say a Prayer for this to happen.  :)  With the hot summers here & the Homeless preferring cold soups, pasta or potato salads it is important to keep them cooled.  I also find & buy the weekly bargains from the grocery stores to save money & most need to be kept cold also.  We need a Miracle with this.  :)

Here is another inspiring story about one of the Homeless people that I see almost every weekend.  His name is Delmar & his given Native American name is "Papoose".  He is fairly young & part Apache & I am getting to know him little by little.  He doesn't drink or do drugs & he is one of the few I sit & eat with.  In other words, I trust him.  He came with me last weekend to be my "body guard" when I went to the big Park.  Anyway, Papoose told me the other day that he makes a little money by collecting soda cans & then cashing them in for change.  He uses that money to buy backpacks for other Homeless people.  Now how kind is that ??!!  :)   These people live out of their backpacks, because they can be kept close to their bodies & kept an eye on.  They also make good pillows while sleeping.  Can you imagine living out of a backpack ?? 

I am continually surprised how the majority of these people look out for each other & how much respect there is shared between most of them.  :)  It amazes me !!

Miracles, Miracles, Miracles !! :)

Miracles, Miracles, Miracles !!!  :)

Another of my learning experiences early on with Feeding the Homeless was to always check the weather report the day before I go to the parks.  And to trust for Miracles to happen, which I have done many times before.  :)  Actually all of this is based on Faith & Trust that I will be supported by Creator. 

Although we mostly have sunshine year-around here in Tucson, there are some days when it actually rains. One Saturday I woke up to a really dreary, cloudy & very rainy day.  I had cooked all the food on Friday & just needed to heat it up to take it to the parks that Saturday.  It rained all day & it didn't look like it was going to let up.  I knew that there wouldn't be anyone in the parks with the wet grass & the very few trees there to protect the people from the rain.  What was I going to do with all that food ????   

Normally I leave my home around 5:00 PM to make the 25 minute drive to the parks.  At 4:30 PM the rain suddenly stopped & the sky cleared & the sun came out, so I heated up the food really quick & headed out.  It stayed clear just long enough for me to feed everyone & once the last person ate it started pouring again.  It continued to rain the rest of the day & all through the night until the next day. 

Creator was my Co-Pilot that day & I said many Thank You Prayers afterwards !!  :)   I so strongly felt supported from what I always call "Upstairs".  :)

Potato Salad with Hot Dogs

Armed with about 40 lbs. of Potato Salad & Hot Dogs in it I went to the two parks today, the first time ever on a Tuesday.  I only fed 19 people at the first park, since no one expected me to come today, on a Tuesday instead of the usual Monday.  And no one was at the other park.  I realize once more how the people wait for me to show up with nourishment every Saturday & Monday. :)  Makes all the work even more worthwhile !!  :) There is another pot full of potato salad left & I will head back to the two parks tomorrow to feed more.  :)

A great big "Thank You" is due to Julia & Drew for your caring support !!  :)  
Julia sent the link to the website "Growlies for Groups" to help me with recipes for the huge quantities of food I am now cooking.  It is also very helpful in finding new recipes, which is always fun too.  :)   I love to roam through new cookbooks & food magazines for new recipes for the Homeless & for me personally too. 

One of the men in the park called me "An Angel" today.  Ahhhhhhh.  :)

Thank You !!

Thank you Colin for donating all those delicious eggs for tomorrows Potato Salad !!  That was very thoughtful & caring of you !!  :) 

And thank you Nicole for donating the huge box of clothes & shoes !!  You are so dear & have a very gentle, lovable Spirit !!  :)  And please thank Jackie for me !!  :)

Cheeseburger Stoup & Another Miracle !!

What an uplifting day this has been !!  :) 

I was able to feed 37 Homeless people today, the most ever, so far anyway.  :)   My two huge pots of thick Cheeseburger Soup (it's actually more like a stew) were empty, except for just a small bowl full of leftover. 
The people were lined up halfway down the Park & at one point it was hard for me to hold back the tears, I was so touched by all these hungry people waiting to eat, waiting for me. 

When I drove off I told everyone that I didn't know if I could come back on Monday, since there is no food & no money left to buy or cook more & it made me quite sad to just think about that.  It would be the very first Monday that I wasn't feeding anyone there since I began doing this 4 months ago on the 17th of January. 

After I got home my dear friend Amanda called & wondered if she could come over.  She wanted to donate 50 lbs. of potatoes for the Homeless meals, 6 ears of fresh corn & 2 lbs. of dry spaghetti pasta.  :)   Yeay, my prayers were heard & all I need now to make 2 huge bowl fulls of potato salad for Monday is a bunch of eggs, lots of mayonaise, pickles & Kielbasa or chunks of ham.  I'm still praying for a Miracle for the funds to be donated by Monday & with lots of Faith in my Heart I already boiled 25 lbs. of the potatoes for the salad.  :)   I know that God/Creator hears those Prayers.  :)

Thank you Amanda once more !!  :)   You are an Angel & your timing was incredible !!  :)   It is awesome how lovingly you support this cause of mine !! 

Dearest Dave & Linda had donated most of the food for the Cheeseburger Soup/Stew & I shared with Dave the other day that I am so grateful to them, because I know that every two weeks I can count on not having to worry about how I would get the food to make the meals for that weekend.  Both Dave & Linda are very constants in this & I could not do it without them !!  :)  Thank you both for your loving & continuous support !!   :)

After everyone was fed I sat with some of my very favorite Homeless people in the Park & we ate together there.  We ended up visiting until about 8:30 PM & had lots of laughs & stories to share.  :)   I am getting to know more of these people & learn about their struggles & joys too.  I will share as I blog along.

While being at the first Park I met two Indonesian Chaplains from the Latter Day Saints Church who came with their families (wives & young children) with food that they had cooked for the Homeless.  It was heartwarming to see the food they brought & so lovingly prepared.  It was all home-cooked too & they even brought drinks for everyone, which I can't afford, at this point anyway.  We started talking & decided that we would coordinate the meals, so we wouldn't be there the same days & at the same time.  We will keep in touch & maybe even work together.  What beautiful two families & how wonderful that they are teaching their young children to give in this way at an early age already !!  :)

Life is wonderful & so inspiring !!  :)

Burritos

Yesterday I received one of the ultimate gifts of Kindness in the mail. It was a check for $5.00 from a prisoner in Indiana by the name of James. It made me cry because I was touched so deeply. Jobs are very hard to get in prison & only pay anywhere from 15 to 25 cents an hour, yes an hour. So James had to work at least 20 hours or even more in order to make his donation to the Feeding the Homeless Fund. Thank you James, what an inspiration you are !! :)

Also yesterday my Lizzy gave me a $20.00 donation, which is also a gift of Love !! Lizzy is a single Mom & I know how hard it is for her, especially during these trying times. Thank you Lizzy !! :) The Homeless loved the pretzels you sent along & were also grateful for all the soups & Ramen noodles too. Thank you too for the spices you donated !! You are great !! :)

The burritos this weekend were a big hit. On Saturday I fed 34 people & on Monday another 33, which brought the total fed so far to 500. :) Not too bad for a little less than 4 months of doing this. It all is just so exciting !! :)

Chorizo & Rice Burritos

Sometimes it is difficult to not judge & I am always working on this myself. There are so many people in the parks that are down on their luck & of course there are always a few of the others too, including some mental illness people.

I am a responsible, hard-working, intelligent woman with my own business. And each month I am struggling to get my bills paid, so I am concerned about being homeless too. It could happen to any of us at any moment. So part of what I set out to do is to learn & to teach to not judge.

Here are some of the stories about the people that I feed every week & have met along the way in the parks.

Most of the time I provide food for an elderly black man of around age 60. His nickname is "Big" & he lives in a very, very old white Cadillac in the parking lot of one of the parks I go to. He has Edema & his feet are three times as big as normal. I always cook with less salt for him, so he can eat along with all the others. "Big" has a hard time walking, or doing anything physical for that matter. He told me once that he used to work for a local organization & his job was to find homes for the homeless. One day he asked for a Bible in big print. I often see him surrounded by people & I wouldn't be surprised if he is still helping people in his own way. :)

Another man, who is in his 40ies now, once told me that his child died years ago & when he learned about it he went on a rampage, hitting everyone & everything. He ended up in prison & has been having a hard time getting back on his feet.

That story triggered another homeless man telling me that his son was killed by someone & when he learned about it he took his gun & started shooting everything in sight. He didn't shoot any people or kill anyone, he just reacted by going crazy with the gun. This middle aged man also ended up in prison & has also been homeless since he came out. He calls me an Angel everytime I come by there with food. :)

My own son died 11 years ago due to an error a pharmacy made & I have a lot of compassion for those two fathers. I didn't react the same way, but burying my child was the hardest thing I ever did in this lifetime. Thank God I was spiritually aware & eventually muddled my way through most of the grief.

Then there is another older man, his wife & their little Wiener Dog. They are such a precious couple & I always look forward to seeing them every week. She is in the beginning stages of Alzheimers & he just hovers over her so sweetly. He always gets a plate of food for his wife first & then he comes back to get his own after that. Sometimes we even make a small bowl for the dog too. :) Not long ago someone drunk hit him over the head with a baseball bat & the old man ended up in the hospital with blood near his brain & one side of his body being paralized. We weren't sure if he was ever going to be okay again. But I am so happy that every time I see him he is a little better & stronger. They are still homeless, but we are praying that because of what happened to him there will be a little place available for them really soon through the City of Tucson or some organization. He is actually looking for a job now to work with horses. He says he is very good with horses & has worked with them before.

And there is another old black man who keeps asking me if I am married. :) He is serious about this & makes me laugh everytime he asks.

I also feed a Native American man who reads a lot & I always take books to him & then leave the rest for the others in the parks. My friend Pinau just donated a whole bunch of books & they have gone out to many already.

At times I take clothes & shoes, also blankets when it's cold & when people donate them to me for the homeless. Since it is in the mid 90ies here now I am on the look-out for summer clothes.
When it rains I always get asked for big plastic trash bags to put on the ground, so they can stay dry & not having to sleep on wet grass.

I periodically get asked for Aspirin or Tylenol, wet wipes, & something to drink, none of which I have money for. The donations are coming in very, very slowly, so yesterday I bought all the food for this weekends meals from my own money & I still don't have my own house payment together for this month. I know that Creator/God will provide & I will keep my faith in that. :) Sometimes it is challenging though. :o Please pray for me.

Today, for this weekend, I am making Burritos with Chorizo (a spicy Mexican sausage), rice, pinto beans, green chilies, cheese & shredded chicken rolled into a flour tortilla. I've made it once before & it was a big hit with everyone. So yesterday I cooked 20 lbs. of chicken legs & thighs & then shredded them for the burrito's today. Wow, what a job that was, but it was cooked with Love. :)

More later .........................

Sausage Vegetable Stew & Apple Pie

My dear friend Amanda brought over a big & juicy Apple Pie this evening for the Homeless people. :)
Thank you so much Amanda !! You are awesome !! :)