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Called to be a Light in the Rockfish Valley
Serving GOD with JOY and GENEROSITY
Serving GOD with JOY and GENEROSITY
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Olivia Ellis, representing the mission ministry team, has been instrumental in organizing a Children's
Food Pantry at RPC and for Nelson County. Here she gives an account of how God is at work
through you and all who care about the hungry in Nelson County.
Dear David,
"You feed them," Jesus told his disciples at the Sea of Galilee when his healing of the thousands had finished. "You
feed them," you repeated to us the first Sunday in June as all the young people brought forward the food they had
saved for the hungry children in Nelson County.
Jesus looked to heaven and asked for a blessing on two fish and a few loaves of bread, and the disciples fed the
thousands gathered there.
You looked to heaven and asked for a blessing on the food the children brought. They fully expected it would feed all
hungry children who came to the Pantry.
Twenty minutes down the road at St. Mary's Church, Father Kelly was asking for a blessing on the food his
parishoners had brought forward for the Food Pantry. Other churches, unknown to me, were doing the same.
Yesterday I saw the results of those prayers.
The Food Pantry in Lovingston had filled 350 bags, enough groceries for 240 households. Ray and Nellie Koon had
collected hundreds of pounds of food to help fill those bags. Children from Rockfish Presbyterian had decorated 20
bags of food (155.3 lbs.) which were kept by the exit door to be passed out by the teens from Calvary Baptist Church
who had come to assist in carrying food to the cars. The parking lot was filled to overflowing. A long line of people
stretched out across the hot asphalt waiting to be fed. A few children were with parents or grandparents. We have
too many bags, I thought. By eleven, with an hour to go, I began to worry that we would not have enough. By 11:30 St.
Mary's crew realized they did not have enough bags filled. They began grabbing grocery sacks and finding food to fill
them. One after another bags were set down just before the room refilled. A minute before the noon closing we had
only one children's bag left. One child appeared; he looked as stunned as the other children had looked when a
surprise gift was handed to them by a beautiful young girl. He kept looking back at us in amazement as he ran to the
car. Suddenly I realized I had just witnessed the recreation of the feeding of the multitudes two thousand years ago.
Everyone who had come to be fed had been fed, both young and old. Is that not what had happened at the Sea of
Galilee?
When I mentioned this to Dick Nees, President of The Food Pantry's Board, he said, "Yes, but a lot of what makes
that miracle happen is the financial donations that come from churches such as yours. We have to buy the food.
More people came this month than before. We don't turn anyone away. We are dependent upon your support if they
are to be fed."
David, I am so proud of Rockfish Presbyterian Church. Please, thank everyone in the congregation who made
Saturday's miracle happen.
Will there be even more people next month? Probably. Will the miracle continue to happen?
Yes, why not? We can still hear that sweet voice of The Lord of Compassion commanding us to "Feed my lambs . . .
feed my sheep."
Cheers to all..
Olivia, on behalf of the Mission Ministry Team
Food Pantry at RPC and for Nelson County. Here she gives an account of how God is at work
through you and all who care about the hungry in Nelson County.
Dear David,
"You feed them," Jesus told his disciples at the Sea of Galilee when his healing of the thousands had finished. "You
feed them," you repeated to us the first Sunday in June as all the young people brought forward the food they had
saved for the hungry children in Nelson County.
Jesus looked to heaven and asked for a blessing on two fish and a few loaves of bread, and the disciples fed the
thousands gathered there.
You looked to heaven and asked for a blessing on the food the children brought. They fully expected it would feed all
hungry children who came to the Pantry.
Twenty minutes down the road at St. Mary's Church, Father Kelly was asking for a blessing on the food his
parishoners had brought forward for the Food Pantry. Other churches, unknown to me, were doing the same.
Yesterday I saw the results of those prayers.
The Food Pantry in Lovingston had filled 350 bags, enough groceries for 240 households. Ray and Nellie Koon had
collected hundreds of pounds of food to help fill those bags. Children from Rockfish Presbyterian had decorated 20
bags of food (155.3 lbs.) which were kept by the exit door to be passed out by the teens from Calvary Baptist Church
who had come to assist in carrying food to the cars. The parking lot was filled to overflowing. A long line of people
stretched out across the hot asphalt waiting to be fed. A few children were with parents or grandparents. We have
too many bags, I thought. By eleven, with an hour to go, I began to worry that we would not have enough. By 11:30 St.
Mary's crew realized they did not have enough bags filled. They began grabbing grocery sacks and finding food to fill
them. One after another bags were set down just before the room refilled. A minute before the noon closing we had
only one children's bag left. One child appeared; he looked as stunned as the other children had looked when a
surprise gift was handed to them by a beautiful young girl. He kept looking back at us in amazement as he ran to the
car. Suddenly I realized I had just witnessed the recreation of the feeding of the multitudes two thousand years ago.
Everyone who had come to be fed had been fed, both young and old. Is that not what had happened at the Sea of
Galilee?
When I mentioned this to Dick Nees, President of The Food Pantry's Board, he said, "Yes, but a lot of what makes
that miracle happen is the financial donations that come from churches such as yours. We have to buy the food.
More people came this month than before. We don't turn anyone away. We are dependent upon your support if they
are to be fed."
David, I am so proud of Rockfish Presbyterian Church. Please, thank everyone in the congregation who made
Saturday's miracle happen.
Will there be even more people next month? Probably. Will the miracle continue to happen?
Yes, why not? We can still hear that sweet voice of The Lord of Compassion commanding us to "Feed my lambs . . .
feed my sheep."
Cheers to all..
Olivia, on behalf of the Mission Ministry Team