Help some people in need. Give away those clothes that you no longer need or want. The Bread of Life ministry makes periodic trips to east Tennessee areas, where we give boxes of badly needed goods to the less fortunate.
Will you help in this work? If you are in the Chapel Hill / Marshall county Tennessee area, we need any food or clothing donations that you can give. Monetary donations are also welcome.
We are a small independent ministry having begun in April 1999. Your donations go to a worthy cause. We operate from our home, so there is no expense for offices and facilities.
Trips are made toward the end of the month when their already meager allotments become scarce or run out altogether. At present (2008) we are making up to five trips a year to selected areas. We spend approximately two days in assisting the needy, and offering what help we can. We can make more trips as funds allow. No fund money is spent on lodging or food. At present, most of the budget is for maintenance on the van, and food purchasing.
Funds are needed for purchasing of bulk food items and general operating expenses. It is run by a voluntary staff.
Revisit here for updates on schedules and plans. The next trip is Wilder Tn in December 2008. Do your part to help the country's less fortunate.
Check donations may be made to BREAD OF LIFE / 1331 Chunn Rd / Lewisburg Tennessee 37091
E mail for more details bdarby@tnweb.com - phone 931-364-7817
The little girl was barely able to drag the sack across the frozen ground.
"Can I help you with that?" I asked her.
She said nothing, but replied with a brief smile. I took this as an invitation to offer my assistance. The black garbage bag was beginning to tear; and the clothing inside would soon be escaping through.
I tried to appear as friendly as I could when I walked up, as people are very cautious of strangers in their community. Some are a proud people. It takes a long while for adjustments to be made - from both parties.
I grabbed the bag in my hand and picked it up to clear the ground, a little surprised at the weight. It was quite heavy. But as it turned out, she was only headed to the delapidated mobile home a few more yards away.
She was still as silent as a stalking cat as I half carried, half drug the load around the corner to the front of the trailer. Looking at the rotted stairway, I wondered if it would support my weight alone when I climbed it.
She was a pretty little one, with black hair and a hint of sparkle in her eyes. These are a people on hard times, and that sparkle is missing in so many. Her smile had broadened now; and there was more than a hint of pride in her walk.
As if on cue, the sagging door was pushed open by a younger girl, presumably her sister. She had apparently been watching us as we approached.
"I'll just put it on the porch for you," I told her. I wanted to say so much more, perhaps spend a little time in simple conversation with them, maybe entertain with a joke or story, meet more of the family. But I knew that my welcome was limited, even though I was delivering a free gift of slightly worn clothing.
It was not a wasted gift. Although it was close to freezing conditions, she was in a short sleeve top. Her shoes were quite worn; but she pranced about as though it were a mild spring afternoon. I was in my coat and quite cold .
I struggled with the burden and placed it on the loosely constructed porch, that even then swayed a bit as if it might collapse. The older girl then, for the first time, showed a bright smile. Still, she said not a word; but I could detect the gratitude.
"There's a lot of good things in here," I managed to say - a clumsy statement I know. I didn't know the social code here. I am in the learning process. But I felt rewarded from the incident.
The two girls struggled with the bundle, hoisting it inside the house and the door closed. Our clothing giveaway was in the church shelter about thirty seconds away. They were the closest 'house' to us.
The local minister told me later that this mobile home had no indoor plumbing. In fact in the whole 'town' only a handful did have that luxury.
The shelter I returned to was a hive of activity. Over fifty people, mostly adults were sorting through the clothing, now disarranged on the tables. Some were carrying food boxes to their battered trucks. Over six hundred came that day to push aside their pride and give in to a chance for some free goods.
We had struggled for weeks of gathering the items, categorizing the clothing, truck rentals, travelling in poor weather conditions, and aching backs from loading this enormous load of cardboard boxes.
But now, this 'enormous' load seemed to be spreading very thin. As far as food was concerned, they were getting very little. I suddenly felt very inadequate. This area of 30% + unemployment gets no outside help except for ours. Even with our limited funding and resources, we cannot hope to enter this area more than twice yearly.
It seemed to be such a pitiful amount to offer. Back home, we had been criticized by some that we were 'encouraging' laziness by giving food away, thereby creating a dependency from these people. At this rate, there is no chance of that happening. We were only offering a few days rations in the face of a cold winter. It is really very little - almost nothing when you consider the vastness of the situation.
Coming from middle Tennessee where money seems to fall from the sky, I had now seen the other side. The booming economy of the richer counties has not reached these remote regions.
We had to leave White Oak about noon time. I wanted to stay longer. I wanted to break a few barriers and talk a bit with the somewhat reclusive people. They are unschooled perhaps, but still have a lot to offer. They are not so ignorant as we may assume. I wanted to carry a few boxes to the trucks, help them find mates to shoes, whatever I could do to help. There is never enough time to work in the fields of harvest.
An ominous weather forecast broke off our plans. But
needless to say, White Oak is one of our future targets.
So with that, the chapter ends.
Pictures of the White Oak aea
