Salvation Army hands out over 600 Thanksgiving meals

Putting a smile on the faces of hundreds while displaying what the holidays are truly about, the CNMI Salvation Army and over 20 volunteers prepared and distributed over 600 Thanksgiving meals yesterday afternoon.

The initiative was met with an overwhelming response as hundreds gathered at the Garapan Fishing Base across the Kristo Rai Church as early as 11am for the 12pm distribution. As soon as the Salvation Army truck began pulling in, dozens appeared from out of the shade and cars and started heading towards the vehicle with some even running to the truck.

In a conversation with Salvation Army pastor Wayne Gillespie, he shared that he was glad to see this year’s turnout exceed last year’s with an estimate of around 400 packs distributed in the first 45 minutes.

“This year we have turkey adobo, ham, rice, vegetables, and two desserts—cookies and ice cream bars.” He shared that along with volunteers, they also had a hefty number of donors who contributed not only money but food as well to make the event happen “So we’re grateful the has Lord blessed us so that we would have this lunch.”

When it came to the volunteers who put the meals together, Gillespie shared that he was personally so moved to see the amount of community spirit shown throughout the time. He was emotional as he shared his immense gratitude and appreciation for them. “Well, the Salvation Army is a church and the core of our volunteer base is our congregation. The base, our congregation, is the rock. Generally, that’s how a Salvation Army church works. We feel that we’re a servant church.”

Gillespie said he’s immensely proud of their volunteers from the church.

“We’re here to serve because we feel that’s what God has called us to do. I’m sorry I get choked up talking about our congregation. I don’t even think of them as volunteers. They’re heroes. They were there at the soup kitchen preparing for the distribution, since 5pm or 6pm yesterday. And they stayed up all night cooking this and they’re still there. They probably won’t be going home until probably 6pm tonight. We also had quite a few other volunteers show up this year as well. Just spontaneous volunteers from the community, and we really do appreciate them.”

He said that the volunteers, including the core group, number around 20, but they were able to get out a little over 600 meals.

“Our congregation in the Salvation Army is very experienced. We’ve been doing food distribution for nearly 20 years now. And they’ve gotten it down to a fine art. All of our congregation members now are the rock of our operations and have been with us since near the beginning. They’ve probably been with us since around 2007 or 2008, some even earlier than that. So, they have it down to a fine art. They can do things very, very quickly and they have a system and they execute it very, very well, very, very efficiently. “

Luke John Agulto Lizama, recently promoted as a senior soldier at the Salvation Army, was at the center of the action yesterday handing out the meals.

“We like to help. For me, personally, I like to see smiles on people’s faces…” he said. “Being able to help when you see people struggle is one of the things I love doing, especially because in a way, we don’t know what they’re going through.”

He shared that through the distribution, he hopes to bring another reason for someone to be grateful for life and God.

Lizama said he’s a member of the Salvation Army church and this Thanksgiving distribution has been his sixth.

To his fellow volunteers, Lizama said, “I really appreciate them. Without them, we wouldn’t have made these 600 meals to give out to the community. It was a struggle throughout the night making these meals, but in the end, seeing people’s smiles is just what makes this the greatest.”

Many throughout the distribution shared a heartfelt thank you to the Salvation Army. One woman shared to Saipan Tribune, “I would like to thank Salvation Army and pastor for giving us a chance to get a meal for Thanksgiving it’s a big help especially for us, those who lost their jobs. So, this is a big help for us. “

Another attendee shared to volunteers and donors, “Thank you very much for all the effort, preparation, and also to those cooking. Thank you and God bless everyone. Happy Thanksgiving.”