Our family became acquainted with Inner City Mission about 17 years ago. As Westside Christian church members, we were attending a Bible school class taught by Jim Eichenberger, the principal of Christian Elementary School. One of the members of that class was Cappie Luman, who has since gone home to be with the Lord. Cappie was a volunteer in the office at Inner City Mission, and she would give our class reports on things the Mission needed. She often would tell of the need for milk with lots of growing children around. Our class would take up a collection from time to time to help. After class one day, my husband, Jim, noted that since the Mission seems to always be lacking in milk, perhaps our family could help supply it. We committed to bring several gallons of milk each week and it has become our own little ministry. Our three daughters grew up helping, and it was a fun family event. I believe seeing others in great need has helped our daughters realize how much they have been blessed. Becky and Janet are married now and live out of town, so bringing milk to the mission is just a fond memory. Emily, who is a junior in college, still enjoys bringing milk with me whenever she is home.

I have enjoyed meeting the workers and residents of the Mission over the years. There have been many darling children asking their moms if they can help the milk lady carry the milk in from the van. There are a couple of stories that stand out in my mind. One story is about Lou. She was a former resident of the mission and God turned her life around so dramatically that she became an employee there. For many years, Lou would greet me at the door with a loud "Mooo!" when she saw me. It always made me laugh. The Lord took Lou home a few years ago, and I still miss her. Lately, I have had the privilege of having Jerry greet me at the door with a big smile and a helpful hand. Jerry always brightens my day by talking about how blessed he is and asking me about my family. My last story is about a cute little girl who poured cereal into her bowl and then realized there was no milk. She prayed that God would bring her some milk, and when she finished praying, I rang the doorbell! When she saw me standing there with the milk, her mouth dropped open and she got a huge grin on her face, and told me of her prayer. That interaction alone was enough to keep me going for many more years.

Our family has also had the privilege of getting to know Scott and Connie Payne,the directors of the mission. The more we get to know them, the more we thank God for bringing them here. We believe their hearts are in the right place and that they truly desire to be God's servants. They serve the people with love, grace and respect. They don't just want to put a band aid on homelessness, they want to get to the root causes and tackle those tough issues. We are humbled by their untiring efforts and feel that Inner City Mission is a valuable tool in aiding the homeless. We would be hard-pressed to find another organization that is more worthy of our support.

Bringing milk to the mission is not a burden, but a bright spot in my week. I hope God allows us to continue to give in this way and that I can affectionately be called the "milk lady" for 17 more years!

Lori Wynstra and family