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Clutching her bouncing 11-month-old son in one arm, Azalea Delvillar beamed as she described her first day as a hotel housekeeper.
Though Delvillar, 37, has an associate degree, the job she started Wednesday is a breakthrough for the mother of three: In a few months, she might not be homeless. In a few more, she might not need to rifle through stacks of donated clothing to outfit her growing boys. In a year, she might not need to attend the free Thanksgiving meal provided by the Salt Lake City Mission.
"I'm a mom who just wants the best for my boys," said Delvillar, who has been living at The Road Home with her sons since August. "I just want to put my kids in a nice neighborhood, with a nice school and continue to follow God."
Delvillar and her sons were among hundreds of people packed into the Christian Life Center Church at lunchtime Thursday for the Mission's annual Thanksgiving Day meal. Crowded around white plastic tables, guests were served plates full of turkey, potatoes, pie and even nachos as music played in the background.
The Mission has been putting on this meal for decades. The food is donated, volunteers cook it and people who don't have transportation are bused in from around the city.
When the day comes to a close, said Shaun Fackrell, the Mission's chaplain and assistant program director, they will have fed about 4,000 people.
But attendees aren't just served food: they can get haircuts, have their pick of donated clothes piled high on tables along one wall and even get their faces painted. Volunteers walk from table to table offering clean socks and hygiene kits with toothbrushes and toothpaste, for example.
This is the second year Delvillar has attended the Mission's Thanksgiving meal. She needed the support last year, she said, because she had just recently moved her kids to Salt Lake City from Chicago in search of a better life. She ended up at The Road Home, had an apartment for a while and in August found herself at The Road Home once again.
She hopes the housekeeping job stabilizes her family, she said, so she can go back to school and get a degree in computer science, or something related to photography.
Troy Travis Turnbow, 42, also joined the Mission's meal in high spirits for 2017. Turnbow had spent about 20 years strung out on meth and living on the streets, a shopping cart full of his belongings constantly in tow.
But last month, Turnbow had had enough. He decided to join a Christian program and "stop making others pay for his mistakes."
He found the Mission and has been feeding the homeless ever since. As part of the Mission's outreach, he said, he goes to The Road Home every morning to serve coffee and doughnuts.
He also helped set up and serve at the Thanksgiving meal Thursday.
He's receiving housing assistance and living in West Valley City right now, he said, but soon wants to become a licensed truck driver.
Talking to people like Delvillar and Turnbow is exactly why Gary Fischer, 79, decided to volunteer Thursday. Around lunchtime, Fischer was helping people dig through clothing to find the appropriate size, as well as sweeping up as hundreds marched in and out of the church for their meal.
He decided to volunteer with his son, he said, because he loves God.
"God says if you love me, then you should love your fellow man," Fischer said.
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