Meals for Families

ALBUQUERQUE – This past December, the Adventist Youth (AY) Ministry of the Rio Rancho Seventh-day Adventist Church partnered with the Ronald McDonald House in downtown Albuquerque to prepare meals for families staying in their quarters. 

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is to create and support programs that directly improve the well-being of sick children and their families. 

As part of their mission, the RMHC provides rooms for families so that they can feel at home while actively being involved in their children's care. The RMHC also regularly enlists the help of volunteers to provide home-cooked meals for its guests. To support this cause, the Rio Rancho Church’s AY Ministry was happy to collaborate with RMHC and in turn do something special for the community during the holiday season. 

While planning their efforts, the Rio Rancho AY ministry was very intentional in choosing who would participate on the outreach team.

“We decided that we wanted to include members of all ages to participate in this project, so we made sure there was a good mix of people involved,” said Ismael Renteria, AY leader. 

“It was inspiring to see teenagers (Gen Z), Young Adults (Millennials), Gen X and Baby Boomers in the same kitchen, cooking and prepping food for the RMHC families.” 

One of the ways the Rio Ranch church strives to put the gospel into action is to do community service, but it also aspires to be an intergenerational congregation. This outing was a good example of their effort to include more members of the congregation, and the AY Ministry wants to continue participating in this outreach project. 

Their goal is to keep the momentum going, and they plan to continue cooking for the local Ronald McDonald House in 2020. 

Overall, the best part of doing this outreach project was not only to see the smiles and contentment on the faces of the RMHC families but also to see them on the faces of the Rio Rancho team.

By Michael Razon, Pastor