Serving Through Rain, Wind, and Hidden Streets
Last night was one of those evenings that tests your resolve before you even leave the driveway.
The rain was steady, the wind sharp, and the air hovered just above freezing. The kind of night when most people stay in — but for us, staying in wasn’t an option.
So we went — not to set up tables under the open sky this time, but to bring warmth to where our friends were hidden.
“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
— Proverbs 19:17 (ESV)
The City Hidden by the Rain
It’s hard to explain, but the rain seemed to hide the pain of the city.
The streets were quiet. The usual corners looked empty.
If you drove by, you might think the need had vanished — but it hadn’t. It had simply tucked itself away in doorways, under tarps, and behind buildings.
The mist blurred the outlines of the forgotten.
The city looked clean, but it wasn’t healed.
And that’s when Kid appeared — one of our dear friends, a familiar face from our Thursday nights. He had seen the app message, found us at our usual spot, and like a skilled tracker, led us to those weathering the storm.
Talk about hidden heroes.
Kid knew where to look — because he’s been there himself.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
— Matthew 25:35 (ESV)
A Mobile Table
Once we found them, the mission began.
Nigel worked the hotdogs — pre-cooked, quickly assembled, each one wrapped and passed through the drizzle. The girls poured steaming hot chocolate from the back of the SUV. Blankets were handed out like lifelines.
It was a different kind of Thursday night — but no less holy.
Who would’ve thought that the back of an SUV could become a mobile kitchen?
That three vehicles could become three tables of grace?
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
— Philippians 2:4 (ESV)
By the end of the night, 150 meals had been served — not from a park or a plaza, but from the hands of 11 teenage volunteers who refused to let the rain stop love.
They rode the elements with courage, laughter, and the kind of joy that only comes from doing something that matters.
Faith in the Storm
As the rain fell and the wind howled, it was hard not to think of how fragile life can be — how thin the line is between shelter and exposure, comfort and cold.
But the beauty of the night wasn’t in the hardship. It was in the faithfulness.
The simple act of going anyway.
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
God doesn’t need a roof and a table to work.
Sometimes, He just uses willing hearts and a few warm hands holding hot chocolate in the rain.
A Final Word
The storm may have hidden the city’s pain, but not from Him.
And maybe that’s the message — when the world can’t see, the Church must.
When others stay dry, we go out.
When faces disappear into the mist, we remember the names.
Because ministry doesn’t stop for bad weather — it just changes shape.
So here’s to Kid, to our teenage volunteers, and to everyone who helped deliver 150 small reminders that God still cares.
Thursday night tables didn’t disappear — they just went mobile.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
— Matthew 5:14 (ESV)
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