Fiction Friday--Topsy Turvy Ministry
Ann and her husband, Ralph were faithful in their home church. They both served on several committees and were a reliable resource for the pastor and congregation. In turn, Ralph and Ann enjoyed serving their Lord and congregation.
Ann was mopping the kitchen floor when the telephone rang. She was not surprised to hear her pastor's voice on the other end.
"Good morning, Ann." Pastor Peachy said,
"Good morning, Pastor. What can I do for you today?"
"Mr. Paulson passed away last night. He had been ill for several months. I need you to take some food over to the family. The address is 675 N. Point St."
"Alright, I'll call some of the ladies in the church to bring food. They will bring it to the church and I'll pick it up and deliver it to the house."
"That's great. I'll leave the door to the kitchen open and they can put the food in there. Thanks for helping, Ann. I really appreciate you."
"I enjoy it, Pastor. I'll be at the church in a couple of hours to gather the food."
Immediately Ann began calling the food committee members. In a very short period of time, she had contacted enough ladies to present the family with an adequate meal. Then she began cooking the dish she planned to take. Two hours later she arrived at the church kitchen and was pleased to see the variety of dishes brought by the committee.
As usual her friend, Brenda was waiting in the kitchen to help her. They quickly loaded the food in the back of Ann's SUV. As Ann drove off, she handed the address to Brenda who was in the passenger seat. Although, neither had ever been there, it took very few minutes to arrive at the family's home.
There was no answer when Ann knocked on the front door. Brenda tried the door knob and discovered it not locked. Quietly she opened the door and called out. "Hello? Is anybody home?" They heard no answer.
"What do we do?" Ann asked.
"Well, they knew we were coming, so let's go in and set up the food."
They entered the home and quickly found the kitchen. They weren't surprised to see the kitchen in disarray and decided to clean it before bringing the food in from the car. It didn't take long for the two ladies to make the kitchen spic and span. They began unloading the SUV. Cold food was stored in the refrigerator and hot food was placed on the stove.
"That should help them a lot." Brenda stated.
"I think so." Ann replied. "Let's go home."
Ann had just settled down in her recliner when the phone rang. "Hello?"
"Ann, that was the wrong address. The family lives at 675 S. Point." Brenda said excitedly.
"Oh, no. I'll be at your house in five minutes."
Brenda and Ann drove as quickly as allowable--or semi-allowable back to the house on N. Point. As Ann backed into the driveway, Brenda observed that nothing had changed since they left. "No one is here."
"Oh, good. I didn't know how I was going to take all this food away from them. Let's hurry and get out of here before they return." Ann said as she literally threw food into the back of the SUV. In short order, the food was loaded and they drove across the highway to the same address on S. Point.
As with the wrong house, no one was home. This time Ann and Brenda placed the food on the counter-top so the family could served themselves quickly.
Just as they finished, Brenda said, "I don't remember that angel food cake at the church."
"Oh NO! I am not going back to that house. I've already been there twice today. It's a wonder someone didn't call the police on me. I am not taking that cake back."
An embarrassed Ann and an amused Brenda drove home debating whether they should ever admit their mistake.
