Monday, April 4, 2011

Look what YOU'VE done!

Dear SoupFriends:

Texas is a big state and is known for doing things in a big way. In that tradition the SoupMobile has a big number to report to you. We just served our 750,000th meal. Yes, you heard right---since its inception in 2003, the SoupMobile has now served over three quarters of a million meals. Even by Texas standards that’s a huge number!

In the SoupMobile’s first year of operation in 2003 we served 5,000 meals. At the time we thought it was a lot. Every year since, our feeding numbers have dramatically increased. You might be wondering who gets the credit for the SoupMobile serving 750,000 meals. First, on a heavenly scale we give thanks to the Lord. It was his son Jesus who said “Feed My Sheep.’ We’ve noticed that when HE gives you a mission HE also gives you the means to fulfill that mission. Second, on an earthly scale we give thanks to YOU---yes YOU! At the SoupMobile we are surrounded by an army of friends, supporters, volunteers, donors and prayer warriors. YOU are the reason we have served more than 750,000 hot, hearty and nutritious meals to the ones Jesus called the ‘least of these.’



As you know the SoupMobile doesn’t just serve food. We also shelter the homeless in SoupMobile Village. The Village is a series of group homes located right here in the Dallas area. Each home designed to take a homeless man or woman right off the streets, put a roof over their heads, clean them up, get them a job and return them as productive working members of society. It’s a ‘Hand Up’, not a ‘Hand Out.’ And who gets the credit for SoupMobile Village. Yes, you guessed it. God first and then YOU! Yes YOU again!


Of course the SoupMobile doesn’t just stop with Feeding and Sheltering the homeless. Every Christmas we take 500 homeless men and women right off the streets and put them up at the downtown Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel in an event called CELEBRATE JESUS.
They all receive new clothes, fabulous gifts, lots of love and we hold a huge banquet in their honor. Most important is that when they wake up on Christmas morning it’s not in a cardboard box under some bridge but in a warm safe bed at the Hyatt. And who gets the credit for this amazing Christmas we give to the homeless each year. Yep, still the same answer---God first and then YOU!

Sometimes in the whirlwind of serving the homeless we don’t get a chance to thank you enough for your help. But let’s face it! YOU are the true heart and soul of the SoupMobile. YOU, our faithful friends, supporters, volunteers, donors and prayer warriors. So in case we haven’t said it loud enough and clear enough---THANK YOU from the SoupMan and his fabulous SoupTeam for your faithful support. Together we are reaching deep into the heart of the homeless community! Together we are making a real difference in this world! Together we are making a difference for Christ!

May the Lord Bless & Keep You All.

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan