cooking for a crowd
q + a
Meet Caleb Gingerich, MDS Social Media Coordinator
Summer Fizz Slushy
Shared values
A bad back doesn’t hold back long-time MDS volunteer Helmut Hein – now he serves up great food with wife Karin.
Contributed by Lois Wenger (see her volunteer reflection, p. 11)
Q: WHAT DREW YOU TO WORK FOR MDS? A: Shared values of mutual aid and selfless service make MDS an appealing place to earn a living while making lives better for those who need it most. Stories of loss and the resulting hope have been remarkably inspirational. Q: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB SO FAR? A: With only a few months under my belt, I continue to love every opportunity to meet new people and build relations. I deeply value the connections being developed with staff and MDS partners. Q: WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA? A: Our social media has endless potential and it’s exciting to think about everything it will become! We’ll continue to adapt to what our audience engages with most. Follow MDS across platforms, we share different content across them all! Q: DO YOU HAVE A FUN PHOTO YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE? A: A highlight of every summer is a week at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp. This last trip, like many before it, we went white water rafting with Noah’s Ark. I am on the left, next to my sister and her husband.
2 12-oz cans frozen orange concentrate 1 12-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate 1 46-oz can pineapple juice 4-6 very ripe, smashed bananas 6 cups cold water
More than one way to serve
Construction veteran now volunteers in the kitchen
dishes in the kitchen of the Westwold community hall, home base for MDS volunteers serving in the area. While glad to be of use to MDS in the kitchen, Hein—who has served with MDS across North America in places like
Mix all together in a large bowl. Freeze.
Remove from freezer an hour or so before serving. Scoop slush into glasses, making them about half full. Fill glasses with ginger ale or 7 Up. Mix and enjoy. (For anyone who does not care for fizz, dilute with water instead.)
Each morning, when MDS volunteers head out to job sites in Monte Lake, British Columbia, Helmut Hein of Abbotsford, B.C. feels a pang. “I always wish I could be going with them,” said the long- time MDS volunteer, now serving as a cook’s assistant. “But because of my back, I can’t,” he said. Hein, 66, spent his career in the construction industry, including owning his own company, and served multiple times with MDS across North America. But years of working with heavy materials took its toll; now he has arthritis. “I have to be careful when lifting things,” said Hein, who retired in 2016. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still serve with MDS. Together with his wife, Karin, 61, who is also retired after a career in the food services industry, Hein helps make and serve delicious food for hungry volunteers rebuilding three homes lost to a wildfire in the interior B.C. community. “It’s a way I can still be of service,” he said while washing
Texas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, California and B.C.—still finds it hard to watch the volunteers leaving for work each day. “I’d still like to try it one more time, maybe as a crew leader,” he said. “I know this isn’t his ideal thing to be doing, but he’s a very good assistant,” said Karin, noting that while he would love to be out building houses, cooking and serving food is one of the most important and best appreciated roles at any MDS project site. Every MDS volunteer in Monte Lake who enjoyed the great food Helmut helped prepare would agree. — John Longhurst
12 behind the hammer
behind the hammer 13
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online