In May this year students, like they do every year, were hit by exam and assignment season. Just as the weather turns nice, or as nice as we have come to expect in York, they begin their journey of revision stress, deadline chasing and just wishing they could just go back home for summer and relax. We can all relate to feeling like you just want a nice home cooked meal and a well earned break can’t we?
Myself, along with some wonderful volunteers and a selection of student teams from York wanted to offer the next best thing. Some of the best jarred hotdogs money could buy and a nice, mostly dry, field in the sun to sit on. So, with our hearts set on offering hospitality and as close as we could offer to ‘home comforts’ to the students of York, we approached JustSow for funding and quickly bought out the hotdog and bread supply of every reasonably priced supermarket in the general area.
You know what they say about students; “If you offer free food, they will come.” That adage was proven accurate this May. In our very first week we gave away 632 hotdogs to students who were amazed by the generosity of the church and asked “why are you doing this?”. The simple answer is that we want to show students the hospitality of Jesus and to bless them in their exam season.
This first week was a complete success in many ways. Despite our extremely slow and smokey BBQs, students turned up. One lecturer even rescheduled their entire seminar so that students could come and join in. It was brilliant to see so many students come and receive. I couldn't help but look forward to September when new students arrive in their university cities across the country and what an opportunity we have as Christians to welcome them with hospitality.
