WelCom May 2019:
Esme Pease
Esme Pease enjoyed helping at SVdP dinner. Photo: Supplied
I was a feeling nervous as I stepped through the door – then inhaled a waft of graceful glory. I spun my head to find out who was cooking such marvellous food. I was expecting to find someone from Masterchef. Instead I found four people helping our community by making magnificent meals to share with those in need.
Just as well there was a reasonable amount of space in the room beneath St Joseph’s Church in New Plymouth because more people than I expected were at SVdP’s weekly dinner evening.
We each were given Vinnies’ aprons and name tags to wear, tied them on and got to work. I could see the food was going to be a big hit with kumara, potato, salads, tender meat, fresh bread buns, sauces and even gravy!
It was almost dishing up time so me and another child from St Joe’s brought the food around to the bench. With our spoons we began dishing up to everyone. Before saying Grace we waited for any late comers. Everyone thanked and appreciated the cooks and students who helped. We got a full dish of scrumptious dinner.
I sat down and talked to a few people whose lives are not the easiest. Their stories were so interesting and some were heart breaking. Everyone one was different and special.
Then we were called through again. DESSERT!!! Ice cream, mixed berries, cream, fruit salad, and even sprinkles! Before I knew it, we were already dishing up seconds! At the end, oh, we were all more than full with big grins on our faces.
Then there were dishes to do. Oh no! But for the first in my whole life, I kind of actually liked doing the dishes, but don’t get any ideas Mum!
When it was time to leave, we all said, ‘see you later’ and strode out into the fresh air. As we looked up, the stars twinkled above us like little messages from God to us saying, ‘thank you’. The most enjoyable thing was that everyone had a different story to tell.
Esme Pease is a Year 6 student at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, New Plymouth.