Friday, May 31, 2013

The Indomitable Human Spirit




Dear SoupFriends, 

Sometimes life can throw us a curve-ball. And if you live in Texas or Oklahoma, lately those curve-balls may seem more wicked than ever. In April the City of West had a massive fertilizer plant explosion which resulted in loss of life and property damage in the millions of dollars. A month later tornadoes roared thru Granbury/Cleburne/Ennis Texas leaving a wake of destruction and loss of life. And just when you thought things could not get any worse, a Stage 5 tornado roared thru Moore, Oklahoma leaving unbelievable carnage and many more lives lost.  

Frankly, there’s no way to sugarcoat what’s been happening. It’s been a rough go for a lot of people. Home’s literally leveled down to the foundations, cars tossed around like toys, schools destroyed and lives lost---many of them children. So is there any ray of sunshine in the midst of this incredibly dark cloud. I would humbly submit that there is!

Bob Riley—former Governor of Alabama said, “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” I would submit to you that these recent hard times have brought out the hero in many people. How about those firemen in the City of West who rushed in as First Responders without any thought to their own lives. They were trying to save a town and lost their lives doing it. They were heroes in my eyes! Are how about those school teachers in Oklahoma who literally covered the children with their own bodies to shield them from the tornado—heroes to be sure! What about the Fathers & Mothers who pushed their own children to safety without any thought of their own safety---heroes, you bet! 


Beyond the heroes was a whole mass of people stepping up to the plate to help. People opened their hearts, their wallets and their homes to assist the ones hurt the most. Donations poured in from all points North, East, South & West. In a world where there seems to be too much hate, too much anger and too much war, the goodness of people rose to the top. We got to see our fellowman at their very best. Jesus said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” We actually got to see this come true in both Texas and Oklahoma as people of all races, creeds and faiths stepped up to the plate to help those hit hardest by recent events.

Hard times are indeed difficult. I’m not sure anyone gets through this life without going thru some hard times.  But in the midst of it all we get to see the very best in the human spirit. There is no denying the hurt, sorrow and pain of hard times. Thankfully there is also no denying the good in people as they rise to the occasion to reach out to their fellowman in help, love, caring and compassion. 

Life isn’t always easy but in the midst of the hard times we get to see the very best in people. And for that I am humbled and most grateful.
May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours,
Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Explosion Rips City of West



Dear SoupFriends,

April 17, 2013 will be a day that will long live in the memories of all Texans. The Texas City of West was hit by a massive Fertilizer Plant explosion. An explosion of such intensity that homes & businesses were destroyed in the blink of an eye. The city’s infrastructure took a huge hit. Most devastating were the lives lost in the blast. 14 people are known to have lost their lives. Countless others suffered injuries. In a town of 2,800 residents, it was a miracle that more lives were not lost. Parts of the town were literally leveled. 

The SoupMobile’s main missions are ‘Feeding & Sheltering’ the homeless. However in 2011 the SoupMobile formed an Emergency Response Team. Its purpose was to respond to natural and man-made disasters in Texas. Since its formation we have responded to a whole host of emergencies including apartment fires, tornadoes in Lancaster and now most recently the disaster in West.


Since the explosion the SoupMobile has delivered more than 4 tons of food, blankets and supplies to West. Then on Monday April 29th we did something very special for the city of West. The SoupMobile Emergency Response Team set up camp in a Chevron Gas Station in West. We gave out $10,000 of Gas Money to pump FREE gas in the cars of 500 West residents, volunteers and first responders. As a special act of kindness we also washed the windshields of every car that received gas.  The response was overwhelming! The number of cars was astonishing as they were lined up down the street and around the block. More telling were the tears in their eyes and the smiles on the faces of the West residents as they received their free gas and sparkling clean windshields. Hearts were touched as we blessed the residents with the love of Jesus. We believe that if Jesus were walking the earth today, HE would have been right there pumping gas and washing windshields.

CBS DFW Channel 11 also made the trip down to cover the FREE gas event - http://youtu.be/QhqOQyggK5g 
Go here for our Facebook Album of the day - http://on.fb.me/12XWLeb

Special thanks to our SoupMobile friends, donors, supporters and Prayer Warriors for helping make this all possible. Without YOU, we could not feed 200,000 meals a year; shelter the homeless in our 7 group homes; give 500 homeless a magical Christmas every year and run the SoupMobile Emergency Response Team. YOU are the heart and soul of what we do. Please accept my grateful thanks for helping make it all happen. ‘Together’ we are serving Christ by serving the ones HE called the ‘least of these.’

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.
Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan