Soups On

A story from the town of Hope:

Last Wednesday Cameron showed up for lunch. There wasn't much being offered, except a bowl of soup, a bun and some juice. Cameron knew what to expect because he had been to 'Soups On' many Wednesdays before, so he felt comfortable lining up for lunch as the other 86 kids flooded in behind him. He had run his fastest this Wednesday and made it first, holding his spot until all was ready.
God's creativity is amazing and the Soups On story is still being written. God has opened the door wide in the small town of Hope. He has created a place where high school students feel able to connect and belong through the simple elements of homemade soup and buns.

Six years ago, the Wiens kids began making friends in their new town of Hope and naturally invited them home for lunch. As the crowd grew, Soups On was shaped into a once-a-month offering where all kinds of teenagers have been gathered up and swept along in the crowd that marches to an unassuming house on the edge of town.
One in every four youth in Hope find sustenance, safety and a sense of belonging as the music blares ad the conversation rises above it. These young people have found a place where the arms of Christ have welcomed them into complete acceptance of who they are. Spontaneous hospitality has continued to become an assurance of a warm house, good food and an opportunity to be loved freely.
Alex, the long-boarder, who has graduated and facilitates the homework club at the highschool, loves to share his story with the Wiens'. Aleada, a young girl who felt comfortable sharing the story of her aunt's recent health difficulties; Justin, a young man who packs shelves at the local grocery store: all of these kids and their stories are a part of the on-going narrative of God's awesome plan in Hope.
The theme of this narrative has nothing to do with an event or a mass of bodies but rather the Creator inviting young people like Cameron to add a page of their story into His great book ... all over a bowl of soup.

Peggy Wiens/Pat Wiens/Tim Larson