The parish priest in the area around The Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico, is in charge of the 5 churches closest to us. He planned a party to honor all the volunteers who help him with the ministries of those churches. The Food Bank is under his pastoral care, and we were invited to attend the festivities. We were asked to bring two huge stock pots of beans to share with everyone. Misunderstanding the request, the cooks put 4 two-pound bags of pinto beans to boil, which ended up making only half of one of the stock pots. When one of the organizers entered the kitchen, she exclaimed to Ramona (the Food Bank director), "That's only half a pot of beans. It’s not going to be enough! They are expecting 300 people at the party." Ramona said, "Well, let's quickly cut up some hot dogs and chorizo sausage and throw that in to make it more.” With the added meat, the one big pot was now full. Saying a fervent prayer over the beans, they headed to the party.
Bringing the chili beans to the food table, the parish organizers were dismayed, saying, "We asked you to bring two stock pots, not just one. There will never be enough to feed everyone! The only other food we have are tacos and the fixings (guacamole, salsa, lettuce, etc.) But Ramona assured them, "The Lord will provide. Don’t worry."
Knowing that’s all they could do, our volunteers joined in the fiesta and fun. Soon it was time to eat, but no one told the servers to go easy on the beans, and they filled 14 ounce paper cups full of the bean/sausage mix, handing them to person after person in the long lines.
Bringing the chili beans to the food table, the parish organizers were dismayed, saying, "We asked you to bring two stock pots, not just one. There will never be enough to feed everyone! The only other food we have are tacos and the fixings (guacamole, salsa, lettuce, etc.) But Ramona assured them, "The Lord will provide. Don’t worry."
Knowing that’s all they could do, our volunteers joined in the fiesta and fun. Soon it was time to eat, but no one told the servers to go easy on the beans, and they filled 14 ounce paper cups full of the bean/sausage mix, handing them to person after person in the long lines.
After the party was over and things were winding down, Ramona asked Conchita to go get the stock pot so they could take it back to the Food Bank. When Conchita went to get it, the parish ladies told her, "Come and look. The pot is still more than halfway full! We can’t believe it!" Going back to Ramona, Conchita told her, "They won't give me back the pot because it still has beans in it."
The next day some of the parish volunteers brought back our pot. “We are witnesses ourselves now of what God can do.” They shared that all the party organizers divided up the remaining chili beans to take home, and only then was the pot empty.
That's the story of the Lord’s Food Bank. God always provides!
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Conchita with the pot from which
the beans never ran out.
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