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Feeding Two Thousand

One evening a few years back, while managing a restaurant in Plano, Doyle Davidson came in to eat. I stopped at his table to check on his meal and he asked a question.

"Would the restaurant be closed for Thanksgiving or Christmas?" I told him that we were closed on both days. He then asked if it would be possible to use the restaurant to feed people. He also asked if the company would allow such a thing. I told him that I would ask. God had put it in Doyle's heart to do this. Doyle was believing God by obeying Him.

I immediately contacted the vice president in charge and told her about the request. Doyle had said that the church (God) would pay for the food and use of the building. There would be no expense for the company. All work would be done by volunteers from the church and community. When she heard this, she said that "this was not only something we could do, it was something we should do". Doyle had once again heard God. She had no choice but to agree. I'm sure that the company looked at it as a wonderful opportunity for publicity. Shortly after the vice president agreed to this, she left the company. God had her there so that we would get approval to do this.

We then began to plan the dinner. Doyle leads our church, and he also leads everything the church does. He decided to have the free dinner on Christmas day. He said he wanted to have a first class dinner. I've never seen him do less. He said that we would serve dinner to anyone that wanted it. It didn't matter what their financial ability was. This dinner was for all. I was told to plan for two thousand people. A traditional dinner was planned consisting of the following menu;

Roast Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls , salad, pumpkin and apple pie, beverages

We had about 5-6 weeks to get ready for the meal. I have worked in the restaurant industry many years. I have never seen a company serve a meal this size without everyone from the President down involved. Because of the holiday and it's importance to the world, I had been instructed that no restaurant employees could be used. This was not a problem until the employees heard about it. Some of them had decided that they wanted to participate and felt that denying them this opportunity was wrong. The vice president, finally agreed to allow them to be there with the stipulation that they be paid. Doyle said that paying them was not a problem at all and did so. What was interesting was that everyone of them refused to accept the money and gave it back to the church.

As we started to put everything together, it seemed that one door after another was opened. The company chef gave us a name of a poultry supplier for the turkey. They said that they would give us all the turkey we needed at half of the cost. They also asked if they could come to help cook it. A local produce company donated the potatoes for the mashed potatoes. Nothing instant about these. A major national company donated the stuffing. Two local supermarket chains gave us pies at well below cost. They also donated a large portion of what was needed. It went this way with virtually every supplier. God was blessing Doyle for his obedience.

As time got closer, all the food and paper items were coming in. Everything went so easily that many of my supervisors couldn't believe what was happening. They all were concerned that something that was so big, could go so easily, especially without their help.

The devil started using people to question the planned number of people. They said that we had no way of telling how many would come. That two thousand was impossible .They said we would have large amounts of left-over food and that it would go to waste. The devil is a liar, and so are people that yield to him.

As more people heard about the dinner, volunteers started to come in. The local police department said that they would tell all of the people on their beats that the dinner was free. People from the community asked if they could help serve, clean or do whatever was needed. Most of the church had signed up to work. With the local volunteers, it got to a point where we had to stop taking names. There were too many people helping. Even the children helped by preparing silverware. What was interesting was that Doyle had invited many of the local government to help serve their constituents. Not a single one showed up.

On Christmas morning everyone showed up ready to work. The restaurant was prepared the night before and all the food was cooking. The kitchen volunteers were doing a great job and the group was the best I've ever worked with. That is not flattery. Many of the volunteers had never worked in a commercial kitchen before. There was no strife. The peace of God was definitely there. Everyone was assigned a job. There were men in the parking lot helping those who needed it. Ladies carried trays for children and the elderly.

Drinks were refilled at the tables. People were treated with great attention and care. Understand that this was in no way due to my experience. Doyle was leading this dinner .He ruled the spirits in the people.

We served dinner from 11:00 a.m. until about 2:30 p.m.. I had prepared for two thousand as instructed. It was estimated that we served about 2100 people including children. Some people were unable to come so food was brought to them. Everyone remarked how good the food was. Both the company vice president and president came to the dinner. They were stunned at how easily everything flowed. The president couldn't believe that all this done with virtually no help from the company. He was also a little embarrassed that they had not been more active. As far as leftovers is concerned, we had just enough without any waste.

After dinner was served then came the clean-up. You may not believe this but clean-up took about 1 hour and fifteen minutes. That means everything washed, put back and returned to original condition. Many times in this type of situation, things do not get back the way they should. This did not happen. Everyone walked out on time and we all made it to evening services without a problem.

The company considered this to be a classic example of doing it right. Many of my supervisors were surprisingly disappointed that it was such a success. They were hoping for failure. That should tell you what spirit they were walking in.

God put this dinner in Doyle's heart. God made sure that everything that was needed was there. It was done at a cost that was ridiculously low. Everything was first class. The dinner went this way because it was God's will and Doyle believed Him. I thank God for the opportunity to have seen this happen. When you are as close as I was to the details, you become very aware of how much God does for those who believe Him.

God leads Doyle. Doyle believes God, and we benefit.