(Nashville, TN) - 15 years ago, Ryan Lampa and a handful of friends got together right around Thanksgiving and began to think of new ways to serve.
"We thought we could put some meals together and distribute them to those in need in our city," Ryan recalls.
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"We passed out five meals. It took us two hours to do that because it was so cold. Most of the people had already found emergency shelter," Ryan recalled.
"There was one person in particular that I often think of. This person was unable to speak, unable to talk but had an incredible way of communicating with us just through their eyes. I remember sharing a meal and spending time with this person and not saying a word and how it revealed that the food and the drinks that we brought were very important and very impactful but that was not all that was happening there. We were actually just able to share a moment of dignity with someone."
"Our hearts and minds were changed."
After praying and seeking God, Ryan and his friends decided to commit to feeding people once a week for as long as they could. "We've not missed a Monday for the last 15 years--we've brought food and drink and clothing to the streets of Nashville."
Eventually, Ryan founded the non-profit People Loving Nashville.
While it started with providing food, Ryan and the team saw that each Monday night was really about fellowship.
"What helped us navigate that was actually Romans 12:15--where it says to weep with those that are weeping and mourn with those that are mourning and rejoice with those that are rejoicing. We found so much richness in our Monday nights...we weren't just feeding those that were hungry, we are also finding moments to rejoice and to mourn with our community. It was being revealed to us that it's something hard to come by when you're living in trauma and survival--finding moments to just celebrate or to just mourn," Ryan shared.
People Loving Nashville has grown over the years--they now provide more than 800 meals each week and have been able to partner with other organizations to help 100 people get housing.
Most recently, they've opened up a brand new coffee shop, Paradeisos Coffee Co. in downtown Nashville. The best part? It's staffed by formerly unhoused people whose lives are changing, one latte at a time.
Ryan shares, "Everything in our coffee shop is 'two-for-one'. If you buy a cup of coffee, that provides a drink for someone who is thirsty. If you buy a sandwich or a bagel here, that provides food for somebody that is hungry. It's a really beautiful picture that's being painted here."
