BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Being in the company of those we love and loving on those who need it most.
That sentiment of serving others is what the ‘Mission at Kern County’ volunteers believe Easter is all about.
Every major holiday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter, the Mission at Kern County volunteers are ready to go.
“It’s about giving back, it’s really about what was done for us on the cross, and how we can showcase the love of Christ, through what he first did for us,” said Samantha Layshot, volunteer at the Mission at Kern County.
They’re putting the ‘doing good’ in Good Friday, volunteers serving up golden baked hams with a side of scalloped potatoes and kindness to more than 300 guests experiencing homelessness.
“When a volunteer is giving a meal, and preparing a meal, and the person is receiving the meal, both parties are blessed,” said Carlos Baldovinos.
The Mission has been serving Kern County’s homeless population for 70 years, but this Easter meal on Good Friday holds a special place following a two-year, pandemic-related hiatus.
“Remember in 2020, that’s when Easter fell in April, we couldn’t have it naturally. Then in 2021, with some extensions of mandates, and shelter in place, and different kind of things took place, we couldn’t do anything at a mass level, but now we get to,” said Baldovinos.
The volunteers and the meals they serve mean a lot to Courtney Mairel and her three-year-old daughter Kendall. Exactly a week from Good Friday, Mairel is “graduating” from the Mission at Kern County program which helped her get back on her feet.
“It just shows Jesus in them, that he’s still real and still working, and that you can see the good in the community and how awesome it is.”
