Leave a prayer, take a prayer

We all have seen them. The little penny dish at your local gas station or convenience store.The one when you get that icy cold beverage and you end up with a fistful of change. Or when we find ourselves just a little short when the tax is figured in and we need that penny or two so we don't need to break our bigger bills. We think nothing of dropping that penny in the dish or taking a cent or two when we need it. That same principle is being applied to Midwest Food Bank Georgia's brand new prayer boards.

The idea for the prayer boards came from discussing how to honor one of the MFB Georgia's most beloved volunteers, Herman Spinney who lost his battle with cancer just over a year ago. Herman, a faithful volunteer, began his volunteer journey with Midwest Food Bank in 2012 at the age of 81. He was known for his wit and wisdom and for his ability to heave heavy boxes into vehicles during load-out. When he passed, his memorial service was held at MFB Georgia. Recently, during a regular operations meeting, the conversation turned to how to acknowledge a man who meant so much to so many and for whom prayer was an integral part of his life. Around the same time, we had been hearing from our agencies asking us to pray for them for a variety of reasons. That "eureka moment" happened and the prayer board idea was born. We could continue to honor the spirit of a man who was a faithful believer in the power of prayer by inviting others to pray for those in need.

We reached out to Herman's daughter, Cynthia, who happens to be a very talented individual when it comes to repurposing and crafting. She constructed two beautiful chalk painted prayer boards that currently hang in the warehouse. One board is for writing prayers for people associated or known to the food bank such as family, volunteers, and friends. The second board, located back by the gathering area for load out, is designated for the prayer cards each agency receives when they arrive for their scheduled load out. They may fill out a prayer request that is then posted on the board for anyone who is looking for someone to pray for.

During our load out the last week of October, one of our volunteers who helps with the prayer requests asked to make an announcement before we began. With great excitement, she told us of three agencies who had made mention of their prayers being fulfilled. One had asked for extra support for a church dinner and was then able to feed 50 families. The second had success with a fundraiser for a new truck. Finally, the third agency, which was desperately in need of just some extra freezer space had a man who lived in their town walk in and give them a check for $10,000 to buy a freezer!

And this is just the beginning. We look forward to many other prayers being fulfilled as we continue to think of Herman and the power of prayer.