September 2010 - First Communion Celebration

As many of you long-time readers of the newsletter know, we have witnessed many miraculous things the Lord has done in our ministries with the poor in Mexico. One of the miracles we have seen various times is the multiplication of food, and Ramona, one of our volunteers, recently shared this story with me:

We were planning a special Mass and then a party for the kids who would be receiving their First Communion at the Food Bank. They had been in catechism classes for a year, and this would be a very special day for them. There were 23 children, and we invited their families to attend also. I was in charge of buying the supplies for the nachos that we would be serving at the party, so I went to the store and got 5 large bags of tortilla chips, 3 giant cans of cheese sauce, and one can of jalapeño chili peppers. I was also responsible for ordering the cake so I got one that would serve 100 people.

That Saturday morning I brought the huge cake and the ingredients for the nachos to the ladies who serve in our kitchen at the Food Bank. After bringing it all in they said to me, “That’s all you bought? Ramona, that’s not going to be enough to serve all the people who have come.” 

I gulped saying, “It’s not?  I thought I had enough.” I didn’t realize how many family members would show up. But in faith I told the ladies, “Don’t worry – the Lord is going to provide.” 

When I walked into the chapel, besides seeing the 23 children, I saw that the place was full of their relatives. It was too late for me to leave and buy more food, so I said a quick prayer asking the Lord to take care of everything, and then entered into the Mass and beautiful celebration. 

When the service was over all the families headed to the dining area to eat. There were about 130 people present. Nervously, I watched them all line up to get their plates of tortilla chips smothered with the cheese sauce and topped with the jalapeño peppers – a favorite treat.  Some of the ladies were handing out pieces of cake. I breathed a sigh of relief when everyone going through the line got nachos, cake and some lemonade. Then I started smiling as I noticed that the kids were going back for seconds, again getting plates piled high with nachos. Laughter and chatting filled the air and I relaxed and joined in the festivities.

Afterwards the ladies from the kitchen showed me the leftovers, including a quarter of the sheet cake.  We all rejoiced together knowing that the Lord once again had multiplied food to feed His poor. Praise God!