Thanksgiving service at San Pablo (El Paso) was followed by a delicious Thanksgiving meal made that morning

For over twenty-six years, the members of Our Father Lutheran Church in Centennial, CO have been serving people through Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) in one form or another. In 1995, several families came down during the Thanksgiving weekend and served turkey, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, beans, and cake to the communities of several of the YLM partnering mission-churches.

Members of San Lucas and La Santa Biblia (Anapra) were grateful for the meals served, as well as to-go containers

This became a yearly mission trip for Our Father, and this year, what would have been the 26^th year had it not been for the 2020 pandemic, these families made their 25^th trip to YLM, prepared to serve over 1,000 meals to people of San Pablo Lutheran Church in El Paso, Iglesias Luterana San Lucas and La Santa Biblia in Anapra, Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey in downtown Juarez, and Iglesia Luterana San Pedro y San Pablo in Kilometer 30.

“It’s such a joy to come back,” Carol, who helps plan, organize, and implement all of the cooking, shared when she and her husband arrived Wednesday evening, “This is home for me, and I have so many great friends here.”

Early mornings for the team were necessary, as they worked together to prepare these meals for lunch on Thursday, which were served after the Thanksgiving service at San Pablo. They left beans soaking and prepped what they could Thursday night to get a head start for Friday morning’s cooking.

“The food came out tastier than in past years,” Amanda, a member of the team, shared later in the week, “I think it’s because we were all so happy to be here, working together and helping one another accomplish what we needed to.”

Families in Cristo Rey enjoyed their Thanksgiving meals on Saturday afternoon

There were many children present for the Thanksgiving meals given out at Kilometer 30 on Saturday afternoon

On Friday, they loaded up pots, pans, trays, utensils, candy bags, and toys to take to Anapra, where they were set to serve at 1pm in San Lucas. By 3pm, they had given out all the food, giving out to-go containers full of turkey, potatoes, and beans. Several people were able to take extra food for parents, neighbors, and siblings unable to come to the church.

Saturday morning, Rosy Lira, deaconess of San Lucas, La Santa Biblia, and Cristo Rey, picked up what was needed for 150 meals. The team helped load up her white van, and she later sent pictures of the people who received the meals in Cristo Rey. Soon after packing up Rosy’s van, the team filled up the two YLM vans once again and made the long trip to Kilometer 30, where they were scheduled to serve at the Community Center at 1pm.

The amount of people who showed up -women, men, children, and teenagers -was surprising, but the team made sure to feed every single one of them. Little candy bags were given to all the young children then to the teenagers. By 3pm, all the food and candy was gone, with people smiling as they left with to-go containers, thanking the members of the team for their gifts of a hot and filling meal.

Thank you, Our Father, for your consistent dedication in feeding the thousands…perhaps its not done with five loaves and two fish, but it is impressive nonetheless to see your hearts for God’s people as you fill plate after plate for young and old.

Want to know how you can come down to help serve others through Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care?  Call (915) 858-2588 to speak with Luz Soto or e-mail her at luz.soto@ylm.org