Thursday was our five-year anniversary of hosting the men of Dare Challenge for Thanksgiving. We had 13 men from the center, Steve, Sarah and me, and three couples from the church for a grand total of twenty-two guests!
The Dare Challenge men arrived first.
They were out in our backyard playing badminton, corn hole and horseshoes when a police car pulled up and a uniformed officer started walking toward the house.
One of the guys instinctively sounded the warning, “Hey man, the cops are here.”
Which when you think about it, since many of those men have been in trouble with the law at some point in their history, a police car pulling up did not do much in the way of putting them at ease.
Much to their relief, Steve quickly explained that the uniformed officer was Tom, a new attender at our church, who was on duty for the day. We had invited him and his wife, Ashley, to join us for the meal.
We were also joined by police officer, Doug, and his wife, Misty, who attend our church. Steve is the Manteo Police Chaplain; Tom is on his right and Doug is the officer with the K9, Boscoe.
Doug and Tom spent quite a while hanging out with the guys, playing horseshoe and just having fun. And to add to the law enforcement crew, some friends of Doug and Misty’s also joined us; the husband from that couple was also (retired) law enforcement.
Doug has been very intentional about reaching out to the Dare Challenge men and it was really great to see everyone from very different backgrounds spending time together, enjoying a beautiful southern day and a fabulous southern Thanksgiving meal.
And speaking of the meal, here are a few photos leading up to the big event.
Here are photos of the pre-meal fun and the meal itself.
And lastly, here is the clean up process, getting all the dishes put away and all the extra chairs and tables moved back to the church.
I was very thankful to have a laundry room near the kitchen because it ended up being a catch all during the clean up process.
It looks so awful that I actually wasn’t even going to post it but then Meagan’s mom, Sheri, just posted a humorous “tell all” post of cleaning her bathroom so I figured the least I could do in fellow grandmotherly solidarity was to show you the picture of my laundry room. My goal is to have it whipped back into shape by tonight.
We’ve got just about everything put away and are relishing the sweet memories that were made during that special day. The guys were so grateful and so polite and such a blessing to have in our home.
Three police officers and their wives.
A pastor and his family.
Thirteen men with histories of heartache and stories of brokenness . . .
All brought together under one roof for one day; all brought together by the providence of God and the joy of forgiveness and the hope of brand new beginnings.
We love our Dare Challenge friends.
There’s no doubt in my mind that, for these 13 young men, the food was the smallest part of the day. What a joy that they’ve found a warm, caring community.
Jan,
I think you’re exactly right! Thanksgiving is all about community and belonging.
gorgeous!
Mrs. Pam,
Thank you!
And I’m glad to see you are showing up under your name again!
As always, so inspired by how you all give so generously of yourselves, time, and resources–gifts without price! Everything looked so inviting. And yummy! 🙂
Love, deb
Deb,
It was yummy indeed and a very special day spent with special folks.
Such a great Thanksgiving tradition. I have several “catch all” rooms it looks like. One day they will get cleaned up but not sure when. So enjoyed the pictures and post.
Ann,
Whatever would we do without our catch all spaces? 🙂
I love you Thanksgiving post. I look forward to them every year. Such a wonderful organization and they are blessed to have such great supports like your family.
Mel,
So glad you enjoy the posts. We are blessed to be a part of a community that cares for each other.
Those pictures just made me cry, such a beautiful thing to do….
Dale,
Thankful tears are good tears. I got a little teary myself. 🙂
Your generosity and the sharing of your home and your hearts is so inspiring. It looks like it was a wonderful day!
(Yay to Sarah for peeling all of those potatoes!!! I really hate that job. 🙂 )
LeeAnne,
Yeah, with my arthritis, peeling potatoes is a bit challenging. Sarah whupped up on those things and got them done in no time!
I love reading your posts for your Dare Thanksgiving celebrations!
Guerrina,
Happy for the change to make their Thanksgiving happy!
I always look forward to reading about your Dare Challenge Thanksgiving! I did get a chuckle, though, out of the K-9 officer named Doug. I thought you meant the DOG was named Doug…. When reading about Doug AND HIS WIFE later in the story, I got just a leeeeetle confused. LOL
Barnestormers,
Oops. Good point. I went in and changed that. 🙂 Thanks.
OOooo! His name is Boscoe! I love that!!!! 🙂
What a lovely thing for you to do, these men will never forget it. And I bet some of them carry on with the generosity they recieved from you when they return home and rebuild their lives by sharing generously as they can with others. I like the pretty colours on your table.
Jenna,
That is our hope–that we will send the joy of generosity and sharing right along with them as they go back out into their lives.
Thanks for the compliment on the table colors; we have had those gold and berry tablecloths and napkins for about 13 years and have gotten a lot of good use out of them!
What your family has done these past five years is such a blessing to these young men!
Liz,
That blessing goes both ways. It’s so much to go back and look at pictures of the past five years; so many faces and so may memories. I estimate we’ve had about 65 guys over for Thanksgiving so far.
so glad you have one of those “catch all – hide when needed places”. looks like much love & friendship were shared
Becky,
A messy room with a door that closes is a great gift. 🙂