Thanksgiving was amazing. We fed over 50 people. Many were regulars but there were a lot of new faces, too. Some people lamented that we were no longer coming every Sunday. One guy, a rocker type with a motorcycle flame shirt, told us how much of a difference we were making. He said, "You guys are restoring lives. went on saying that he had seen a number of people who started coming to our Sunday morning breakfast and then made changes in their lives for the better." One of the men who attended is a grandfather with a fu Manchu mustache. He has occasionally come to our breakfast outreach Sundays, but his daughter and her three sons always attend. Anyway, he came up to me and gave me a gift. It was a hand-carved wood pair of scissors. Said he carved it from a single piece of wood and just wanted to give it to me to say thank you for what we do there.
Later, I sat down with a young man who was eating at one of the tables. He asked if we had any shelter program and then explained that he had a job with Brookstone at South Coast Plaza but he won’t get paid until Dec. 6, and he’s out of money. He had to check out of the California Lodge the next day. I called around and made a few people aware of the situation so we could pray for him. I wasn’t able to locate any shelter but Janine in the leadership team said that she would check with her husband, because they have a trailer next to their house that he could probably use for awhile. She came back later and said that her husband agreed. Several of the Saddleback people had heard Jonathan’s story and offered to pay his rent at the motel, but instead I encouraged them to slip him a few $20’s for food. The day after Thanksgiving Jonathan moved into a nice trailer with water, heat and a comfy bed which he’ll be able to stay in rent free until he gets back on his feet. And he had over $100 in cash to pay for food for the next couple of weeks while waits for his next check. (We rarely would encourage giving cash but felt we had good reason to trust Jonathan would use it wisely.) At the end we still had four whole turkeys, four pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing which Mike Newmen took to the Salvation Army Hospitality House and they used to serve dinner that night. Ron
Later, I sat down with a young man who was eating at one of the tables. He asked if we had any shelter program and then explained that he had a job with Brookstone at South Coast Plaza but he won’t get paid until Dec. 6, and he’s out of money. He had to check out of the California Lodge the next day. I called around and made a few people aware of the situation so we could pray for him. I wasn’t able to locate any shelter but Janine in the leadership team said that she would check with her husband, because they have a trailer next to their house that he could probably use for awhile. She came back later and said that her husband agreed. Several of the Saddleback people had heard Jonathan’s story and offered to pay his rent at the motel, but instead I encouraged them to slip him a few $20’s for food. The day after Thanksgiving Jonathan moved into a nice trailer with water, heat and a comfy bed which he’ll be able to stay in rent free until he gets back on his feet. And he had over $100 in cash to pay for food for the next couple of weeks while waits for his next check. (We rarely would encourage giving cash but felt we had good reason to trust Jonathan would use it wisely.) At the end we still had four whole turkeys, four pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing which Mike Newmen took to the Salvation Army Hospitality House and they used to serve dinner that night. Ron 
