EATING INDIAN

Suffering withdrawal symptoms after two weeks of spicy and flavorful Indian food, I ate lunch at the House of India restaurant in Centereach today. It has to be the best deal in town - $8.75 for all you can eat and trust me, the food is really good. Yes I did pig out, I did eat more than I should, but a person has to do that now and again. Let's face it, I wouldn't be normal if I didn't!

Anway, just when you thought there wasn't one, here's the real point. I was eating with a guy who's the salt of the earth - the kind of person who's the backbone of our church. He isn't too conspicuous, definitely isn't seen on stage, but he's committed, involved and as excited about all that is going on as I am.

Gene Holland has been helping with our Saturday afternoon mobile soup kitchen ever since we started it five years ago. He says it's one of the highlights of his week and although I started off leading the outreach myself, the fact that I often only get there 50% of the time nowadays has meant that he is now the person who looks after things faithfully and well.

Gene's a great guy. His Jamaican roots mean that he follows cricket avidly - used to play when he was younger - and so among other valuable contributions he makes, he scours the internet every week to keep me informed on what is happening in the game worldwide.

Our church is made up of hundreds of people just like Gene. They're not looking for the spotlight. They've just caught the vision and are willing to do whatever they can to help make it happen. I'd like to take them all to lunch, but since that's not feasible I do want to salute them right here.