Icing on the Cake <http://www.guideposts.com/story/birthday-boy-takes-cake>http://www.guideposts.com/story/birthday-boy-takes-cake It was my job to pick up food for the soup kitchen. One donation I'll never forget By Abbie Daigle, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania September, 2006 I was spending a year working and living at the St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen and an outreach to the homeless on the east side of Philadelphia. It's in the Kensington neighborhood, an area so rough that the police nicknamed it "The Badlands" for its abandoned houses, prostitution, drugs and poverty. The landscape is bleak and depressing. This is why I had to move hereI wanted to help people caught up in such circumstances. One of my duties as a volunteer at the Inn was to drive a van from supermarket to supermarket, collecting much of their donated food. We got all kinds of things, from canned goods to day-old rolls. And we put everything to good use. But one day I picked up something that made me feel so sad. It was a beautiful birthday cake, with blue and yellow frosting on top. "Happy Birthday, Lewis," read the bright script on top. Poor kid never got his birthday cake, I thought. I put the cake in the van, said a quick prayer for Lewis (whomever he was, wherever he was) and finished up my rounds. Back at the Inn, I stacked the birthday cake up with the other food we would be distributing. Later that afternoon I was back at the Inn, sorting mail in the office, when Sister Janette walked in, wearing a triumphant smile and carrying the cake in her arms. "Look what came in today!" she exclaimed. "It's a birthday cake! Can you believe it?" Sister Janette worked with the neighborhood children. She reminded me about the mother who had called her the other day, asking if there were any way she could get something for her little boy to take to school to help celebrate his birthday. Like most families who came to St. Francis Inn, they had nothing. "Perfect," I said. Or almost. Well maybe we could scrape off the name that was on the cake. Sister Janette opened the lid of the box to take a look. "Oh, my!" she said, gasping. "My little Lewis is going to be so happy!" <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Custom Faith-based U.S. Postage <*}}}>< + <*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/on+allposters+today.html>on AllPosters today <*}}}>< + <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< + "A person is a person, no matter how small." Dr. Seuss <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Custom Faith-based U.S. Postage <*}}}>< + <*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/on+allposters+today.html>on AllPosters today <*}}}>< + <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< + "A person is a person, no matter how small." Dr. Seuss --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
