Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Homeless Outreach

One of Bithja Racine’s favorite Bible texts comes from 1 Corinthians 10:31, and it says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NIV). So instead of rolling over to catch a few more winks of sleep, this text drove her to a kitchen at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md., at 3 a.m. on a Thursday morning. She was not alone. The junior counseling psychology major was joined by several of her fellow students. And throughout the day, in between classes, more students would help prepare a veritable feast that included rice and beans, macaroni and cheese, a special Haitian dish, lasagna, salad, steamed vegetables, patties and cakes.

As the 22-year-old mother of two tried to get her friendly, rambunctious, four-year-old daughter to sit still at the dinner table, her five-year-old son sat counting. He was doing pretty well. He almost made it to 100, when Luritz Parker, a member of Chesapeake Conference’s Atholton church in Columbia, Md., interrupted to hand them three clear sandwich bags filled with soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and wash cloths.