It is 5 am and in mid late November it is still dark the streets are wet and it is cold. Now just imagine what it would be like to have to sleep out here. For the Donaldson family that was there story only a year ago. Today they are thankful to have a chance to give back to the community that helped John, the patriarch of the family find a job.
So they are loading up their van that only last year has there home with as much food as the back of the van could hold. By 8 am the sun is up and the Donaldson family is met by several others in the Saint James parking lot behind the posts office in downtown Vancouver.
"The plan is to have the food serving by noon." One lady told me as I helped her cary food into the anex of the Chatholic church.The hungery are already lined up.
We had two sites orginized this year and we would need it. Staint James ran out of food before 1:00pm and we planed to be serving outside the Sharehouse until 5:00pm. That is as long as we have enough food. But already other groups where takeing up the slack.
By the time I was ready to go one of the church volunteers told me that between the two sites 500 turkeys would be served to the homeless today.
My father asked me if I am happy. Well as I said before it gets crowded in I'm head sometime making it hard to say that I even like myself sometimes. The new medication the doctors have me on makes me groggy most of the time but at least I know that staying up all night putting this event together was as real as it gets. I am thankful for the volunteers from St Joseph Catholic Church and St James Catholic Church as well as The Lighthouse Church, for happy make this event a reality. I am grateful for the Stieners for taking me in out of the rain and having a job that lets me have time to do what I love and still pay my bills.