Richard and Sylvia began leading a small group (Life Transformation Group) at the Richmond Hill Christian Community Church three years ago. Together with the group members, they hoped to put biblical teachings into action by serving the community on a long-term basis. But it was not easy to find such opportunities. They heard about the need for volunteer cooks at 105 Gibson Centre Youth Services’ A Meal Together and they are now in their third year serving once a month with about seven group members.

With a tight budget, the biggest challenge was to prepare a dinner that could satisfy the appetite of 70 meat-loving youths. Fortunately, the team members are bargain mavens, who managed to find ingredients at discounted prices to prepare three dishes within budget every single time. The team experienced the providence of God like in the miracle of five loaves of bread and two fishes. As the team members are housewives with their own cooking habits, there were worries about handling differences of opinion. But in fact, all things worked together in the beauty of serving.

Last year, they were invited to attend A Meal Together’s Christmas celebration. Some youths shared that they used to be idle, but through A Meal Together, they had the opportunity to know about Christianity and later believed in Christ. Some of the youths began to realize their ability to give, taking initiative to help out in the kitchen and coming back to volunteer in their university years. Youths now know they are loved and their lives are valuable and purposeful. Richard and the team witnessed the transformation of their lives and affirm that this is worth their efforts. They hope the youths will not merely enjoy the delicious dinner, but also have a taste of God’s love!