[00:00:00] Jim: So today I sit down with Kevin and Cindy Engelkamp, St. Peter's parish, Omaha, Nebraska. We have an amazing conversation about this beautiful event that serves the poor and homeless and all sorts of people who don't have another place to go for a Thanksgiving meal. Edie is fantastic. You're going to hear about their collaboration and how their hearts are changed by the gratitude and humility of those they serve. You're going to love today's conversation. Take a listen. 

[00:00:35] Intro: Hey everybody, welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go.

[00:00:59] Jim: Kevin and Cindy Engle Camp. Welcome to the Quip Cast. How are you doing? Good, thank you. Thank you. Remind us. Well, I am so excited. We were chatting a little bit before we turn on, on the mics. Like, uh, we actually have, yeah, a fair number of kind of acquaintances. I had forgotten that we had met. Well, gosh, I don't know.
Probably 20 years ago. At least. Yeah. You were kind to point out that I had more hair than, so thank you for that. Cause I had totally forgotten that some of our children are in school together. So, uh, really fun. Thank you for being here. Just as we get started, tell everybody a little bit about your faith story.

[00:01:36] Kevin: Well, I'd say it goes back to the early 90s. We were a homeschool family. Um, we have seven kids, been married for 43 years, and we were homeschooling primarily because our oldest really didn't fit in a regular school setting. We tried several. Different places, and it just didn't seem to work for him. He's a strong-willed child to begin with.

[00:01:59] Jim: That's our oldest as well. Yes. And now he has one. So yes, absolutely. 

[00:02:04] Kevin: So, turnabout is fair play. Anyway, as we started homeschooling, Cindy got involved with a local homeschool group that was. Almost 100 percent Protestants, except for us. Interesting. When we got married, Cindy wasn't baptized yet. Okay. We were married for 8 years before she was baptized in the Catholic Church.
And then, came into the church and... 

[00:02:26] Cindy: Once we started having kids, I wanted our kids to have a faith foundation that I didn't have. Wow. And so, I decided to become Catholic. So, when you look back, you can see the blessings in your life. And it was definitely a blessing to be married in the Catholic Church at the time.
Even though we are very smart and knew everything. 

[00:02:46] Kevin: Yeah, she was 18 when we got married, barely 18 when we got married. So... 


[00:02:50] Jim: Wow. 
[00:02:51] Kevin: We were very young.

[00:02:52] Jim: I mean, all of that sounds like a story just in and of itself. It just like Cindy, what, what drew you into the church? Like 

[00:03:00] Cindy: I said, when we had kids, I wanted our kids to have a foundation, but we still weren't really that great of Catholics.
What changed for me, and I tell people homeschooling brought me to the Catholic church because I started searching and seeking and praying for Kevin, that he would be the leader of our family. And we were just blessed to grow together in our faith, and we've been doing it ever since. And I prayed for Kevin to be the leader of our family, like I said, and he got ahold of Rome sweet home and now I can't, I can barely hold the reins.
Keep them back from, uh, just, uh, we're a hundred percent Catholic and love our faith.

[00:03:42] Jim: Well, that's, that's probably a great place to jump off because your faith, and I know you're not alone in this. You're part of a beautiful community at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Omaha and the St. Vincent DePaul Society, but there is a beautiful Thanksgiving tradition.
That, you know, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and St. Peter's Catholic Church, and I was just finding out others as well, uh, other churches are, are a part of. Thanksgiving meal served for the poor in the neighborhood. On Thanksgiving Day. Yeah, on Thanksgiving Day. I think that's significant too, because it's a, there's a commitment there that often is a time, you know, where it's maybe reserved for family.
Uh, maybe we can talk more about this later, but it's like, no, we're going to do it on Thanksgiving day. For those who've not been there, can you give us just a little bit of a picture of what this day, this meal looks like and sounds like and feels like? 

[00:04:39] Kevin: Well, it's a transformative process because we do it in our school gym.
So as any old school gym would look, it's not much there, but we roll out carpet on the floor, we put up a chandelier up in the ceiling, we roll out tables. We have. Uh, linen tablecloths that we iron and put out and really make it as fancy as possible for a gym. And when you walk in there, you, you really just kind of lose yourself because we put up Christmas lights everywhere.
And we just really want to welcome all the people in the neighborhood that are able to come. Because they just don't get treated very well, very often. 

[00:05:18] Jim: Yeah, they don't eat at tables with linen very often. 

[00:05:23] Kevin: Right. And we truly make it like a restaurant. We have boys that dress up in bow ties and are the servers.
We have girls that dress up and they go around and do the dessert trays. Yeah. We carry their food out to their place for them on trays. We just make them feel like king of the world for the day. 

[00:05:40] Jim: Yeah, it is so not a right soup kitchen line. It's not a cafeteria. It's like a, it's like a fine dining. I mean, it's yeah, as close as you can get is like being in someone's living room, just a really big living room with, you know, a basketball hoop.
As well as a chandelier overhead. 

[00:05:59] Kevin: And Johnny Ray Gomez provides the entertainment, the song, and it's just a fun place to be. There's dancing, there's songs, there's just a very joyful place. 

[00:06:11] Jim: How long has this been going on? 

[00:06:13] Kevin: Since at least 2009, uh, it started very small. It really just started from one of our choir directors who was living here by himself and didn't have really much of a social network.
And he wanted to get a bunch of young adults to have a Thanksgiving meal together. And so that was the very first one. It was very small, but then. As it grew, then we, we became part of it. 

[00:06:36] Cindy: I'll just step in for a minute. Um. 

[00:06:39] Jim: Yeah, here comes the historian. You can tell the record's going to get set straight.

[00:06:42] Cindy: Yeah. He realized that, uh, Mark Pickowitz is his name and who was our choir director at St. Peter's that there was nothing for people on Thanksgiving day. And he was a single guy and wanted to have that outreach. So, he started it and then moved on us. And so...

[00:07:00] Jim: Yeah, that's great. 

[00:07:03] Cindy: Then Kevin and I got involved.
Uh, father cook probably asked us and you don't say no to father cook. And that's how we got involved with St. Vincent DePaul as well. But, um, it has grown, and Kuntz Memorial Lutheran church used to put on a Thanksgiving meal, and We reached out to them to see if they wanted a partner, and they were all on board.
And it's been a great, uh, collaboration ever since. 

[00:07:28] Jim: That's fantastic. And you said it's a Lutheran church. It's a couple of blocks away, right? It's not too far away from where you are. Cause you're both kind of in the, for people who aren't from Omaha in the kind of downtown area or certainly on the edge of it.

[00:07:42] Cindy: So, St. Peter's is 27th and Leavenworth and 26th. Yeah. And they have their own outreaches too. They have a medical clinic. They have a food pantry twice a week. And so, it's great to collaborate and meet people of other faiths that are trying to serve those in the, in the neighborhood and promote Jesus Christ.

[00:08:05] Jim: Yeah, tell me a little bit about the guests because, you know, it started with, I'm going to project here a little bit, but like, you know, single adults are like, man, I don't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving. But before long, it's kind of evolved in that it really is a kind of a neighborhood celebration.
And there are a lot of, uh, for lack of a better way to describe them, people who would not have a meal like this, you know, their financial needs, their poverty. health, other things such that they would not have someplace else to go. How did it evolve into that kind of larger outreach to all of these guests in the neighborhood?

[00:08:45] Kevin: Not just having it on Thanksgiving Day, but it's an authentic meal we cook 40 turkeys. We... 

[00:08:53] Jim: That was four zero forty turkeys. 

[00:08:57] Kevin: One year. We made 40 turkeys They were smaller ones, but we make up over 400 pounds of turkey that we cook. 

[00:09:03] Jim: Yeah, holy cow. 

[00:09:05] Cindy: Coons cooks the turkeys for us. We're very grateful for that.

[00:09:08] Kevin: Yes. They have a very large kitchen over there so they can handle that. 

[00:09:12] Cindy: We have wheat fields donate stuffing and... 

[00:09:15] Kevin: Gravy. 

[00:09:16] Cindy: Gravy, and we have... 

[00:09:17] Kevin: Sweet potatoes mashed potatoes... 

[00:09:19] Cindy: We kill 150 pounds of potatoes. We make real mashed potatoes. Wow. Yeah, I don't know if we should tell about the drill Kevin's brother, um helps us a lot of times and he they actually used to go to coons before they moved, and He devised this drill and this paint stirrer to do the huge quantity of mashed potatoes because we don't have a big... 

[00:09:42] Jim: Whip the mashed potatoes.
Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. So, 400 pounds of turkey. We'll use it over a hundred pounds of mashed potatoes. Roughly how many guests and how many volunteers?

[00:09:54] Kevin: I would say we generally have between four and five hundred people served on that day. Wow. So, there's a lot of meals and some of those become people that are eating that are volunteers too, because volunteers come that don't have any place to go to.
Yeah. We have had up to years of 200 volunteers. For the meal, because we have a lot going on. We're making to go lunches up on the stage with sandwiches and pumpkin pie. So, we can handle up to like 200 volunteers and that's greeters. And like we said, there's boys that are serving the tables, there's people doing drinks, there's people doing desserts, there's people on the serving line, kitchen. You know, everything.

[00:10:33] Cindy: We also have people. Sit with the guests and talk to them, uh, about their favorite Thanksgiving and memories just to make them feel comfortable. 

[00:10:44] Jim: Say more about that. Cause I think, you know, this is a little bit of a half-developed thought, but I've, you know, I've been to this this day. And it does feel like you're in a living room, although a really lively living room, like I've never had live entertainment, you know, we maybe have a CD going in the background for Thanksgiving, but I mean like live entertainment and like the servers and all of that, it feels so different than times again, they serve a beautiful purpose, but soup kitchens where it really feels like a cafeteria assembly line.
Say more about what you do to help the guests. Feel at home. 

[00:11:25] Kevin: So, the very first thing we do is, and this is a large part of our volunteer base, our greeters, and we just line the gym as they're coming in and we shake their hand, tell them we're thankful they're there. We just make them feel welcome from the second they walk in the door as they're going through the line and getting ready to get their plate and get their food.
So immediately upon entering the place, they are welcomed with a smiling face. 

[00:11:50] Cindy: Father Broheimer and Pastor Hall are on the front line of the serving. They say a prayer before the meal and they'll sit with the guests as well and eat and it's just a very nice, comfortable atmosphere. 

[00:12:07] Jim: I can hear, Kevin, I can hear the little bit of the emotion in your voice as you're talking about the hospitality for people on the way in.
What does this do for the volunteers who are there? 

[00:12:20] Kevin: We're the ones that get the most out of it. I mean, they get fed and they get a beautiful experience, but we're the ones that are really receiving. 

[00:12:29] Jim: What do you receive? I mean, you said you receive more, you know, the guests are getting a meal and hospitality and just an experience of love and welcome.
You say you're getting more. What are you receiving?

[00:12:40] Kevin: It's just the joy and the grace that we receive by serving and being welcoming to people that we don't even know and making them smile and making them feel good and making them feel this is what the Lord is doing for us. We want to share this with you.

[00:12:54] Jim: What do the guests say? What are they experiencing?

[00:12:57] Cindy: So, they look forward to it. A lot of them come back every year. They wouldn't miss it. Um, in the past, we've had Ollie the trolley come to a disabled and senior apartment complex and pick them up in the neighborhood. We also adopt them at Christmas. And give them a basket of gifts.
But anyway, we pick them up and bring them back. And then we'll go to Sienna Francis house and pick up guests and bring them to St. Peter's and... 

[00:13:24] Kevin: Take them back home afterward. 

[00:13:25] Cindy: ...fill their bellies. 

[00:13:26] Jim: Right. And Sienna Francis is a local homeless shelter. Right. Yeah. For those, for those who don't know, you kind of alluded to it, you know, especially with the, uh, the old folks’ home, the retirement home, what kind of like relationship develops with guests over time?
I mean, some of them are coming back every year. 

[00:13:44] Cindy: That's one thing about, we haven't talked a lot about St. Vincent de Paul society, but There's like 33 chapters in Omaha that people might not even know about. We used to kind of be like quiet behind the scenes, but we're getting our name out more because the more you get your name out, you can have more funds to do more things.
And one thing that we've realized, so St. Peter's we help with rent, utilities, furniture, ID. We have a pantry, but, um, we have, we also have different outreaches and Thanksgiving meal is one of our funnest, biggest outreaches that we do each year, and we get a chance to visit these neighbors again. So, it might be a one-time thing.
We help them with stop that, get their lights turned back on or keep them from getting evicted. But then we'll see them again at our special outreaches and we get to develop a relationship with them. 

[00:14:37] Jim: Yeah. I mean, in many ways you're really on the front end of preventing homelessness. You know, as people can reach out to the St.
Vincent de Paul Society, you can help them stem the gap for rent or for electric and keep them from becoming homeless because, you know, preventing homelessness is just as, just as crucial as trying to then care for people once they are on the street. Right. 

[00:15:02] Cindy: And right now, the need is higher than I've, we've ever seen it because of the economy.
People are pinched and we try to help the working poor stay in their homes and keep their lights on. 

[00:15:17] Jim: How do people reach out? How do people get connected with the St. Vincent de Paul Society? 

[00:15:22] Cindy: So, I think we've been doing this for close to 20 years and St. Peter's kind of has a reputation of helping people.
And it's a lot of word of mouth in the neighborhood. They know where to go. St. Peter's might be able to help you because neighbors, neighbors help each other. But there is a district office that they can call and find out where the nearest St. Vincent of Paul is to them if they want to, if they need help, but also if you're parents.
It doesn't have a St. Vincent de Paul. You can find out about how to start one and get involved that way. Or maybe they already have a St. Vincent de Paul, and you can get involved with their conference. 

[00:16:03] Jim: Yeah. It's interesting. You talked about getting the word out and it seems like it's not hard to get the word out amongst those in need.
Right. Neighbors and friends tell each other. It's getting the word out to those who might have a little bit extra that we can offer right as an expression of gratitude. That's the word that needs getting out. 

[00:16:23] Kevin: We agree. There's always good stories to tell. We try and do that as well to our donor base to tell as many stories as we can of the difference that they are making in people's lives because we really are.

[00:16:37] Jim: Do you have any stories you want to share now? Just have some of the people who you've been. I mean, 20 years is a long time. You've seen a lot of, you know, a lot of individuals, both who are coming to this meal and some of the special outreaches and then those, you know, those who just you've met through their kind of individual connections because of their, their need.

[00:16:58] Cindy: I mean, we have a lot. We have every week we find people that have touching stories. One that sticks with me, and it was a long time ago, a lady came in needing a win, a warm coat, and she was Native American. She was very cleanly dressed. Her hair was in a braid. And, um. She shared with me that she had housing and she let her sons come in and they had a party and she ended up getting kicked out of housing because of her sons and she was staying in an abandoned house and she was doing volunteer service, waiting to get back in the system and needed a warm coat because it was starting to get cold in this.
House and you would never know that she was actually homeless and in that situation. And that just really struck me because people might have a picture in their mind about who is homeless, what the homeless look like. And everybody, everybody has a mom. Everybody has a dad. Everybody has a story where they started from, and this isn't where they intended to be.
And I've just seen so many people. One paycheck away from being homeless themselves or being in a situation that they don't know where to turn to. And so, I mean, God loves us all and meets us where we're at. 

[00:18:21] Jim: Cindy, what has, what has your contact with the poor done for your faith? 

[00:18:29] Cindy: This might sound silly, but I feel like it's my vocation.
I love doing it. I feel like this is what God has called me to do. Uh, I have a servant's heart and I get to spend other people's money helping people, which is kind of fun. Um, but it's just something in me that fulfills me. 

[00:18:50] Jim: It's interesting. It's hard, you know, Kevin, we were talking about a little bit early.
It's hard to talk about, you know, as I'm part of our conversation, I'm also listening to it and I'm, you know, I'm reminded. Of like the St. Lee deacon, St. Lawrence, who's, you know, he's told to bring in the treasures of the church, you know, by the Romans and he, you know, he brings in a bunch of poor people, which the Romans did not think was cute, you know, and so he gets, you know, he gets roasted alive, but there's this deep tradition in our faith that there's a treasure in the poor.
In those of us who are in need, and Cindy, I love the way you talked about it, like, you know, there are so many of us who are just a paycheck away or a bad decision away or a bad party with our kids or whatever, you know, not that far away from being in the exact same position. What, in your experience, is the treasure that you find?
In the lives of these individuals. 

[00:19:48] Cindy: Um, you know, they're very grateful and they can't say enough about helping them put out this fire. We also partner with Omaha bridges out of poverty that have a class called getting ahead and just getting by world because we want to try and lift people up out of poverty and give them the tools to help themselves.
And that has been a great partnership. We started just before COVID with them, and we try to get our neighbors in the neighborhood to take this class. They get a stipend at the end of the class and, you know, they might start out taking the class because they want that stipend. It's like a 400 visa card, but actually when they finish the class.
They have learned a lot and they they're given hope and confidence to that. They might be able to change their Path in their life. 

[00:20:41] Jim: Wow, that's beautiful. So I mean they're given skills to you know be able to Work and manage their finances Relationships open a bank account is a simple one So they're given these skills not all you know that that you maybe just don't learn in school or you might have missed that day But and they're given a little financial incentive to keep them attentive to what's being offered.
That's fantastic. I love that. I can't help but notice how many references the two of you have made to other organizations, the army of volunteers, but to others that are partnering with you all and this kind of like this working together. That's, that strikes me because sometimes, sometimes we get kind of insular, you know, in the church and we get, you know, we don't want to cooperate, uh, with others.
I don't know how to ask this other than how did that happen? Cause it doesn't always happen. Sometimes we just try and do everything by ourselves. And you've like name dropped, like, I don't know, I've lost count, but like countless organizations that you've been able to work and partner with. Like, how did that come about?

[00:21:46] Kevin: I would say part of it's intentional. I mean, two of them that we haven't mentioned, least to my brethren and hope of the poor ones that we work with, and hope of the poor became partners down at. The Holy family church, which is where I was, I had an office for several years because I was president for the archdiocese of the district, district office of St.
Vincent Paul. And we just, when they couldn't go to Mexico anymore, when COVID hit, they opened a coffee shop down at Holy family. And that has just been. The biggest success you could possibly think of. 

[00:22:21] Jim: Oh yeah, I've been there. It's so beautiful, so beautiful for those who haven't seen it again. If you're in Omaha, it's this old Catholic church.
I think one of the oldest in the city architecturally and you know, it hasn't been functioning as a parish, but it's this beautiful outreach now for. The poor, I mean, they could find clothing and meals and with this now, Hope With A Poor's Presence there, this coffee stand, which is just like this beautiful place.
I mean, it's like everything that a coffee shop kind of does. It's like conversation and connection and uh, it's great. 

[00:22:56] Kevin: And the other one is Least My Brethren, who does a meal at St. Peter's and at Holy Family once a month to serve the same group of people. So, our neighbors in St. Peter's area and then the neighbors down there.
And Holy Family, they get a great breakfast once a month. So those are the kind of partnerships that we, we find that we're working together to make it all happen.

[00:23:17] Jim: I love those. I mean, we've done, I don't know what episode number, but both Hope of the Poor. Danny and Craig and Scott are good friends. And, uh, At least for my brethren, we've had both, both of them on the EquipCast before, so that's awesome.
Way to, way to cross reference episodes. 

[00:23:34] Kevin: We didn't even know. 

[00:23:36] Cindy: So, we just feel like, well, we're always open to new ideas and new ways to help and improve the way we do things. Back to the Thanksgiving meal, we did a sign-up genius for volunteers, which was a huge relief for Kevin and I to get people to sign up ahead of time.
So, we don't have to give 200 people a job all at the same time, you know? Yeah. So, the stress level has gone down with that. And yeah, we don't know all the answers, but. Other people come up with better ideas and we try it and see if it works. And we also do two big food giveaways in our parking lot in the fall and the spring.
Uh, we have a lot of homeschool community that comes cause we do it on a Friday and we deliver, we give pounds of food to people through the food bank. Yeah. Partner with the food bank. And then we also provide four lunches a year besides the Thanksgiving meal. And we've got. Other people that are in charge of the food away and the community meals.
So, we're spreading the wealth of serving. There's lots of opportunity. And if people have an idea, we're open to it and willing to give it a try. And plus, it feels like there's so much against the Christian faith. We need to bond together and be one and not dog each other for. What you don't believe or what we believe we need to just come together on what we agree on and serve before and Yeah, help each other.

[00:25:10] Jim: Yeah. Well, and I mean I'm gonna paraphrase here But I love the way Pope Francis as he talks about the works of mercy I mean says that like they restore our credibility as the world looks on You know, in my days as an on campus missionary, um, like the ultimate kind of apologetic for Christianity and Catholicism was Mother Teresa, you know, so it's like, I know there's some rascals that, you know, and, and scoundrels that are a part of our church, but Mother Teresa, she was one of us too, and that always had a way of kind of silencing people because you couldn't argue with her love and her witness of care for the poor.
I want to ask a little bit, you know, you talked about saints who've, who've just recognized there's a presence of Christ hiding in the poor, that there's a healing that Jesus offers us when we engage with the poor. I think about some of our listeners have heard me share this story, but St. Francis, you know, there's a, there's a great story that when he was a young man, he was basically a, a wealthy suburbanite, you know, he's living kind of like outside of his CC and he's got lots of money and he's like deathly afraid of lepers who were kind of the poorest of the poor.
I mean, literally untouchable. And, you know, one day he finally gets the grace to go embrace. Uh, this leper and he offers him his money and his cloak and from that moment on, he never struggled again with a fear or distaste of the poor. He didn't struggle with his own, you know, preoccupation with wealth and prestige.
And the person who had first kind of shared that story, he's like, now I want to make sure you understand the moral of this story. We don't tell this story because St. Francis healed the leper. The leper walked away, and he still had leprosy. We tell this story because the leper healed Francis. You see this gratitude in the poor.
You see this kind of humility in the poor, a willingness to receive help. What else has, for lack of a better way to say it, what else has inspired you from your contact, uh, with those who are in need? 

[00:27:26] Kevin: I think one of the things that I see, and this especially happens at the Thanksgiving meal because there's so many people there, is that it breaks down the barrier or the premonitions that people have about the poor.
They realize they're just like me. They're just like you. They're not something scary that I need to avoid. They're a person that I can connect with. And I can help. And to me, that's the biggest thing is that when you get people involved, whether it's a food giveaway or a Thanksgiving meal or whatever, they're meeting people face to face.
And that is breaking down the barrier. 

[00:28:06] Cindy: Yeah. And I think you also have to give people, especially your kids. An opportunity to serve. Some people don't like mandatory service hours, but it gets kids out of their bedroom, off their phone, video games, and face to face with someone that's less fortunate with them.
And that's going to stay with them their whole life. And some people, you can just see it. They have a heart to serve, and they might not have known it until they had that opportunity. 


[00:28:38] Jim: Yeah, thank you for saying that, Cindy, because you know, sometimes as a parent, the obligation falls on you. You're like, Oh crap, now I have to, you know, now I have to get my junior high kid to the service opportunity.
But it's different if the service opportunity is just pulling weeds. Yeah. Or if you're actually connecting with people. Seems like that's where the, you know, that's where the real change comes and sometimes your teenagers come back a little bit better for it. Yeah. 

[00:29:04] Cindy: And it's okay if the parents come too.

[00:29:06] Jim: Yes, absolutely. Okay. Well, I mean, our time is like totally flown here. I want to, I want to give you a chance though. Like for those who are listening and thinking like, okay, wow. Like, yeah. I love this. I want to figure out how to do this in some way, shape or form with our family, with our parish community, our organization.
What advice do you have for those who want to, you know, who want to reach out to their neighbor in similar ways? Where should they begin? One of the things that 

[00:29:34] Kevin: I Really like to emphasize is just because you want to become a part of serving the poor doesn't mean you have to try and solve all the problems you can pick one event a year, whether it's Thanksgiving meal, giveaways, or whatever.
But do something and then it will grow from there. Um, so yeah, take baby steps. Do one thing serve at one lunch. Come give away pantries on one Saturday. Uh, and it will open your eyes to the possibilities, and you realize I can do this. 

[00:30:06] Jim: Wow. That is so good. 

[00:30:08] Cindy: I mean, we're open to volunteers. If people are interested, they can go to, uh, St.
Peter's website, the, uh, stpeterchurch.net. We have a video that. Storytell made on our Thanksgiving meal that I always, I always watch it like right in the beginning of November to remind me why we do this. 
And it's really well done. And also, there's a sign-up genius link. You can sign up for opportunities.
Wednesday night we set up and then of course the meal and then we're cleaning up afterwards. So, whatever fits your schedule, um, just come find out what it's about and. Like, like I said, you don't have to go somewhere to be on a mission trip. You can do it right here in Omaha, right here with your St.
Vincent de Paul, right here with your Catholic church. Yeah. 

[00:30:58] Jim: Amen. We will link in the show notes to, uh, St. Peter church. We'll make sure that people can see the video because there are folks listening all across the country and that video is beautiful. It's well done. It just gives you a picture. Of maybe what something like this could look like in your parish, and we'll also link to the Saint Vincent DePaul Society, the Omaha chapter for those who are listening.
We'll link there, uh, as well. Kevin and Cindy, thank you. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Before we go, like what's your favorite Thanksgiving food? Gravy. Gravy. Oh. Oh. Rarely makes the list, but it is a food group all in itself for Thanksgiving. 

[00:31:39] Kevin: Yeah. It's kind of hard not to. Wheat fields is the best. Uh, I'll go with real cranberry sauce, not the jelly kind. 

[00:31:48] Jim: Yeah. There we go. Yeah. Real cranberry sauce. My wife makes a cranberry pear pie, which is like the perfect fall. It's like extra sweet, but it's like tarts and... 

[00:31:59] Cindy: So, when you said that, we didn't mention that we also have people bring pies. Oh, yeah. If your family is getting together the same time, you can always drop off a pie.

[00:32:07] Jim: Boom. That's fantastic. All right, everybody, you know, somebody who is planning Thanksgiving dinner right now and they need to make an extra pie or dinner. Somebody who wants to see this, they, just a little bit of the, the hope and the gratitude, um, that's contagious from the guests and from those who, uh, well, they know how to express gratitude because they're a little conscious of, of their need.
Uh, you know, somebody who needs to hear this. So, share this out with your friends and have a great Thanksgiving, everybody. Thanks for listening to the EquipCast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission. Stay connected with us by going to equip.archomaha.Org. God bless and see you next time.