SERVICE Every Monday at 4 p.m. a group of approximately 15 Harding students picked up pizzas and delivered them to children in trailer parks in Searcy near campus. What started seven years ago as a project for Bisons for Christ, a day of community outreach from Harding students, became the Pizza Ministry, a weekly outreach program started by members of men's social club Gamma Sigma Phi. Senior GSP member Kai Bishop said they usually gave the children pizzas and then played games with them for the rest of the hour. There were around 20 children who went everyweek. Some ofthe families of the children depended on the Pizza Ministry because it was their only meal for that week; however, not all of the families had cases that extreme. "It's so cool to see the parents and the kids opening up their lives to us," Bishop said. "The unconditional love they show us is what inspires me and keeps me Hy Ale.r ivingroue coming back each Monday." Junior Ashley Buckner said she had not missed a single week of Pizza Ministry since her first week as a freshman at Harding, unless she was sick or out of town. She said the group went every single week to the trailer park, rain or shine. "My favorite thing is seeing the kids' faces each Monday," Buckner said. "Even though we are supposed to be there to influence their lives, they are the ones who impact our lives. The hugs they give and the smiles that light up my day make me look forward to Mondays." Senior Abby Tran said the local Little Caesars pizzeria originally donated the money for the pizzas, but the ministry eventually outgrew the amount of pizzas Little Caesars could provide each week. "For last year's Bisons for Christ, we did fundraising," Tran said. "The student body gave $1,500. Since last 2 B '• 0 1u; .\:\I Z .\TIO~ S year, it has become this huge thing, and we got Liz Howell (vice president of parent/alumni relations) as a sponsor, so we are technically an organization of Harding now." Pizza Ministry teamed up with Bailey's Pizza, a family-owned pizza restaurant on Race Street, which donated the pizzas every week. Before the donations began, the cost came out of the students' pockets. Buckner said those children were forever in her heart. She said the instant she laid eyes on them, her day got better immediately. "It's hard to explain, but God speaks through them," Buckner said. "He uses us as a constant source of love and encouragement to build them up in their life. We want so badly for them to know that they are loved, able to be anything they want to be, and that there is a God who has big things planned for them."
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