SPOKANE, Wash. — The Union Gospel Mission served a prime rib dinner to 300 guests on Christmas Eve. Everyone was welcome.
Many guests live and work at the mission. Others came looking for a warm meal.
Michael Love has lived at the mission for two months while going through the life recovery program. He has been homeless since 2020.
“[I] went from being homeless and living on the streets to having a purpose in life and being healthy and stable,” Love said.
Love said the Christmas Eve dinner lets him reflect on his progress.
“Christmas Eve dinner is just like Thanksgiving dinner, it was amazing. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen put together and I think Christmas Eve dinner is going to be exemplary. I’m very appreciative and blessed to even be here to enjoy that,” Love said.
Chef Ryan Kolsrud prepared the prime rib. He said it can be difficult being away from his family on Christmas Eve, but serving the meal makes it worth it.
“I just love seeing their faces and just being a part of it. It’s not even that hard of a meal to cook, Thanksgiving is a lot more intense with dealing with all of the turkeys. But it’s nice, I really like it,” Kolsrud said.
The prime rib was donated by a local company. All food was donated by organizations supporting the mission.
Many kitchen volunteers are going through treatment programs at the mission. Ruben Gomez came to recover from alcohol addiction. He hopes the dinner will show people how the mission can help their lives.
“It’s helped me a lot and I’ve grown tremendously and I continue to grow. With the help of the staff and the programmers and everybody, everybody contributes,” Gomez said.
The mission also provided to-go meals for anyone who couldn’t come inside.
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