Lain Rodgers'
dream led to having 500 in for
lunch
People of all backgrounds have a
chance to feel a little more
human on Saturdays, thanks to
Lain Rodgers and her Master's
Table.
Simple
in its concept, grand in its
compassion, the Master's Table
was founded five years ago by
Rodgers and her husband, Doug.
The Park Avenue house in Hot
Springs serves a hot, sit-down
meal downstairs and has racks of
clothing upstairs, all free of
charge.
The
Rodgers own Carriage Custom
Homes, Inc., the largest home
builder in Hot Springs Village.
Lain Rodgers is an agent with
ReMax Real Estate of Hot Springs
Village. She remembers the
moment when her life changed.
"We'd
been in Dallas doing really
well," she recalls, "and then we
came back to Hot Springs and
were doing well here, too. One
day I was driving around and I
saw this little boy up on Park
Avenue, near those old hotels.
"He was
holding an old pizza box and
started eating a stale piece
with a smudged out cigarette in
it. I started crying. I had been
blessed with so much and he had
nothing. I knew I had to do
something.
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Children help their
mom pick out clothes in
the Master's Closet.
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"After looking around the area,
my husband bought this house and
remodeled it. We just began
making the dream a reality on
our own."
Rodgers
and other volunteers spend
Fridays cooking Saturday's
lunch. The menu varies from week
to week. A recent menu was
hamburger steak, mashed
potatoes, turnips, brown beans
and ham, bread, cakes and pies.
"It's
an old house, with tables and
chairs set up in it," Rodgers
says. "We fill the plates up,
then volunteers take it out to
them. These people have never
had anyone wait on them. They
can't afford to go out and eat,
so this is their Saturday where
they sit down at a nice table
and someone waits on them. I
don't want them to be in a
line."
The
first Saturday 24 persons came,
Rodgers said. Today close to 500
come every Saturday for a hot
meal - and more.
"Some
of them just want a hug," says
Rodgers. "They may not be hungry
for food, but they're hungry for
something. We all crave that
human contact. There are people
who come just for that. It's a
chance for them to feel human
again. It is the coolest thing.
"A lot
of the people here need help
making ends meet. Others made
poor choices in life. They may
be alcoholics, crackheads,
prostitutes. But it doesn't mean
we can't be kind to them."
Rodgers
credits many church and
volunteer groups which have
signed up for Saturdays
throughout the year and helped
make the program so successful.
Groups sometimes need to
schedule a year in advance if
they want to come out one
Saturday to serve.
Aside
from good food and hospitality,
patrons can find free clothing
upstairs in the Master's Closet.
"One
day a little boy was playing
football up there and his heel
was bleeding from having no
socks. My mom gave him two pairs
of socks and he told her, 'No
ma'am. I'll just take one.
Someone else might need them.'
"Can
you imagine? We have lots of
stories like that."
Rodgers
said they are always looking for
donated clothes for the Master's
Closet. "We have all ages and
sizes, so anything that's
donated is needed, but we
especially seem to run out of
men's clothing. Especially good
shoes. Not dress shoes, but good
walking shoes, tennis shoes. We
always need socks and underwear.
Not so much dressy outfits, but
things someone on the street
would find useful.
"Also,
coats and blankets are always
needed this time of year. At
Christmastime we make sure
children get brand new coats,
but anything that's donated is
appreciated and used."
Rodgers
is grateful for all the help she
receives every week from family,
friends and volunteer groups.
"There
have been a lot of people here
who have dedicated a lot of time
to the Master's Table," she
says.
"This
couldn't be done every week
without them. My family has been
a big help. Sometimes my
daughter comes to help prepare
on Friday.
"My
son, Frog, he's a builder and
he'll just say, 'Mom, I need to
give back. What do you need at
the Master's Table?' He's
donated freezers and other
things to it.
"My
children have a heart for it
like I do."
Rodgers
acknowledges it's sometimes hard
to see poverty up close, with
real faces and circumstances
attached to it.
"But
when I saw that little boy with
the pizza box, I knew I had to
do something.
"Every
time I go up there, I thank God
he has blessed me and given me
the privilege, not the job, to
be there for someone else.
"We
might not be able to help
everyone, but we're bound to
help someone."
The
Master's Table is at 631 Park
Avenue and is open from 9:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays.
