6,000 volunteers gather at Mission Arlington prepared to deliver Thanksgiving food to people in need. (You can only see 1/2 of the line here.)  Six thousand (6,000) families received food, representing 25,017 people, our largest Thanksgiving Day delivery ever.

On Thanksgiving Day, a few staff arrived around 1:30 a.m. to begin moving trucks (filled with turkeys) into position. Others arrived a little later to begin blocking parking lots, setting up rope lines, distributing signs, sign-up sheets, and name tags.

Some volunteers began arriving way before the appointed 8 a.m. start times, ready to get going, and eager to be first in line.  At 7:30, Bible study leaders, and other volunteers gathered with Tillie to pray for the day.

Putting hot meals into Thanksgiving plates, to give out to the community.

At 8:00, Ms. Tillie spoke to the burgeoning line of volunteers, thanking them for the gift of their service. A little bit after that, the doors were opened, and the lines began to move. By this time, the number of people who had come to help deliver food had swelled to over 6,000 people. As you can see from the picture above, it was an extraordinary sight.  The day was cool, but the rain held off, and people seemed to enjoy being together as they waited.

People received the names of two or three families, with maps attached. They followed Bible study leaders to various locations, or just went out on their own to make personal deliveries of food to people in need.  Volunteers out back unloaded turkeys from trucks and into cars making deliveries, and lines of cars flowed smoothly through the mission out into the community.

About 10:00 a.m., the process switched from turkeys and Thanksgiving baskets to hot meals.  Restaurants had prepared and pre-cooked Thanksgiving food. Volunteers put this food, including slices of turkey into a delivery box, and volunteers took the meals out to the people.  The final piece to the morning was a sit-down meal at the mission, for people who had no where else to go.

All in all, it was an extraordinary day.  One volunteer said when she arrived at the mission, even through the crowds, she could feel God’s peace.  Other volunteers told us that they appreciated how quickly things moved, and/or how organized the whole event was.

Our perspective, as the Mission Arlington family, was one of Thanksgiving.  With the cold and potentially wet weather, we knew it was possible that we wouldn’t have enough help for the day. Yet, thousands came to help.  At one point earlier in the month, we were concerned that we wouldn’t have enough food to meet the need. We shared the need with the community, and Turkeys and Thanksgiving food began to flow into the mission, giving us just enough.

In the end, we had enough food for 6,000 families. 25,017 people received food on Thanksgiving day.

Mission Arlington^® , simply put, is a mirror – a reflection – of our community. We only give away what you first give so generously.  We can only “give away” what you have provided, because, like an army on the move, you showed up to deliver the food.  What is just as beautiful is the way you cared for the people as you gave out the provisions. This is an extraordinary community.  We believe that there isn’t another one anywhere just like it.  We are truly humbled and blessed to serve alongside of you here.

All glory to God!