I want to be remembered for being someone who made a difference in others' lives.  Guess that's why I feel so strongly about our church's outreach to our community.

We have an outreach every month, every second or third Saturday.  We give boxes of fresh, nonperishable foods to needy families, as well as those who are homeless or may be struggling financially, or those who seem to have more "month" than money by month's end.  

Our program is called "ROWTLOC" ("Reach Out With The Love Of Christ"), or "Rowt-Lock" for short.  Our youth pastor came up with it about two/three years ago, and it seems the need has only grown.  When it started, we served maybe 100 families; now the need has doubled, no, tripled, to nearly 550.  We have people volunteer their time to unload the food from the trucks as they come rolling in (usually the Friday before); then bright and early on the Saturdays we convene, then we pass out the food and also have prayer time and reach out to a hurting (or needy) soul with the love of Christ.

People from all ages volunteer; we get such a kick out of seeing a smile on a hurting or needy family member's face, knowing that in some small, tangable way, we made a difference.  For some of these families, the meals they get may be the only good meal they get for the entire month.  We give them meat (chicken, turkey, ground beef, hot dogs, sausages), vegetables (peas, carrots, potatoes, celery, lettuce, etc.), and whatnot.  They also get chips, boxed dinners (if we have any left over), and pretzels, as well as things like pizza.

In addition to the food, they also have free books for the visitors (adults and kids' books; we get 'em from a reputable Christian book dealer at very reasonable prices), and we also have people who will pray for those who need prayer.

I'm on the prayer team.  Nothing makes me happier than to pray for others.  Whenever I think I'm having a bad day, I think of some of the people I pray for and suddenly realize just how blessed I am.  Compared to the problems some of these people are facing (homelessness, job loss, death or sickness of a loved one or friend, etc.) my own problems pale in comparison and seem pretty darn insignificant.

I just hope my younger brothers follow my footsteps.  I'd like them to see what I do and why I do this.  They could learn about compassion and love; right now they're all about each other and nothing else seems to matter.  

They don't know about some of the people that I see.  Maybe they do, but they don't talk about them.  And that makes me sad.  So I am going to do all I can to teach them and make them see that there are many unhappy, needy people out there who could use something as simple as a smile, a hug, or even a prayer, to let them know that someone cares for them and what they are going through.