“Loaves and fishes” I told Phil that first morning that I was in Gilbert, West Virginia. “Just think of this as loaves and fishes.” Actually Hardees had a two for one breakfast special that I just couldn’t pass up. I also couldn’t eat all of it so rather than wasting the sandwich, I gave it to one of the volunteers from Cabrini College.
The reason I went to West Virginia was to help Harry Drake and the West Virginia Ministry and Advocacy Workcamp lead a group of 17 individuals from Cabrini College. Although I had previously stayed at the Gilbert Manse and worked with Harry, it was still disconcerting to realize that it was I who was the stranger in this room full of bodies. Even so, it was the reason we were here that mattered — we wanted to help build a house for a woman who had lost everything that she valued.
The job site was a little over 50 miles away from where we were staying. That meant that each day, we faced a one-hour-plus commute along winding, mountainous roads — first in the morning when you are still half asleep, and again in the evenings when all you can think of is sleep. That’s two hours a day spent in the company of people with whom you may or may not have something in common. Yes, the ride in my truck had the potential of being a very long ride indeed.
I still remember our first drive together — so much enthusiasm and so many questions! Are there mountain lions here? Why is the river that color? Is that a coal mine? Why are some trailers on 10 foot foundations? Why are do a few people live in mansions yet most live in trailers? So I did what comes naturally to me — I told stories of my past trip to Gilbert and gave a running commentary of the area as we traveled.
I’m not sure when the topics of our conversation in my truck changed. Maybe it was after a group of volunteers began to clean up a pile of charred debris and encountered some memories of the high school student who had perished in the fire. These items were little things — a high school notebook, a college application, an SAT prep book, a high school ring. Each item was unimportant when taken individually. It was when they were collectively laid out before us that they became a reminder that it was a daughter who perished in the fire. These were the possessions of an individual who would probably be a sophomore in college if she had survived. For all we know, this child of God might have been a roommate of one of the volunteers from Cabrini College.
Later, we met the homeowner — a woman who lost everything. This lady lost her husband in an accident and later her mother-in-law to a broken heart. She needed a kidney transplant to live but did not have the money to pay for the doctors’ bills. This was a woman who lost her home, her possessions, and her only daughter to a fire. Worse yet, she was then abandoned by her family and her church and was left to live on the streets. The amazing thing was that through out all of this, the only thing she never lost was her faith in God. Maybe she hadn’t lost everything that SHE valued, just the material possessions that WE value.
“Loaves and fishes” someone said as they shared their lunch with the homeowner.
Our conversations in the truck became more intense, more philosophical, and more searching. We shared stories of our Spiritual journey. We talked about our family, our fears, and our passions. Then we talked about what was for supper. That’s when someone mentioned how the homeowner’s only meal was the lunch that we shared with her earlier that day — and we were worried about what WE were having for supper?
Come Thursday morning, each of us had invested over 30 hours of work yet we still were not ready to lay that first sheet of plywood flooring. Our goal for the day was to complete the flooring before we left for good. God must have had other plans because heavy rain settled in within a few hours after arriving at the jobsite. Since Harry was making a run to the dump and wouldn’t return for quite some time, we had no choice but to hunker in our vehicles and talk. This time the conversation was about how little was accomplished given the amount of sweat we had invested. Then came the knock at my driver’s side window. It was Kim, one of the volunteers. “Loaves and fishes.” she said. “Have some of my sandwich”.
That’s when it dawned on me. “Loaves and fishes” is not about sharing a meal but about sharing in a miracle — such as when you meet a person who is able to maintain her faith in God while in the midst of a horrible tragedy. “Loaves and fishes” is about creating something from nothing — like endearing friendships within 24 hours. And most important of all, “Loaves and Fishes” is about sharing stories of faith and learning something new as taught by people that are half your age. The volunteers from Cabrini College taught me that all of us accomplished more than we realized. They also taught me that sharing of oneself fosters Christian fellowship, and Christian fellowship fosters a greater understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
It’s amazing what you can learn from some simple conversations in a truck.
Wayne Green |
