My wife and I like to walk about four miles in the morning at a local wilderness park and after our walk in late April I noticed a mosquito on my hand and we decided not to walk there again until fall. That very afternoon we decided to join the local YMCA.

As we were on a tour of the Y, I asked our guide about renting a room for some Plant Base cooking lectures I could conduct.  The director of the Silver Sneakers (a senior citizen group) was standing near by and our guide pointed her out.  She asked for me for my contact information and assured me that the group would be interested.

About two weeks passed and I got a call asking if I could join them the following Wednesday at 8:30 am.  I agreed and started planning my lecture. I made vegan oat burgers and scrambled tofu. With the burgers, tofu, a jar of Veganaise, printed recipes, paper plates, and a great deal of uncertainty of what to expect I made my way to the Y. I took the recipes from the Diabetes Undone cookbook (our church offered Diabetes Undone to the community free of charge and no one attended) they proved a real hit.

I gave the lecture to about 25 people of different ages and they all enjoyed the information and food.  I also mentioned that our Pittsburg church would be holding a plant based cooking class in September. The director shared with me their willingness to advertise via the YMCA newsletter. I am grateful for the way God has opened the door for our church to share a message of healthy living and our church members are eagerly preparing for our health talks this fall.

Wayne Gaton pastors the Pittsburg Church in Kansas.