Teen Tackles Huge Thanksgiving Challenge

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. -- Most teenagers will turn into couch potatoes this Thanksgiving. Anna Lee Lunsford is up to her elbows in sweet potatoes.

She's plans to feed 500 people this holiday.

"My mom tried to calm my nerves," said Anna Lee. "It was like, Jesus fed a multitude in the Bible. I was like, well, I'm not Jesus, but I can try."

At a youth conference in Tennessee, councilors issued challenges to about 1,500 teenagers. Anna Lee was one of a handful to accept. Her mission, find 500 people in who could use the gift of a warm meal, and fill their Thanksgiving table.

She had less than two months to pull it off.

"If she gets something in her, she'll put her mind to it and do it, no question about it," said friend Tiffani Hodges. "She's going to do it if God tells her to."

With the help of her church, Anna Lee raised $4,500, enough for the turkeys, green beans, sweet potatoes, and the rest. She arranged for a kitchen at the FFA camp in Newton County, where she and about two dozen friends are now preparing the meals.

"I'm so proud of the young lady she's turned into," said Anna Lee's mother, Tina Lunsford. "She's such a child of God, and her faith really shines."

Her Thanksgiving Day will begin at 5 a.m., when she box the meals and prepare for delivery.

"God has changed my life," said Anna Lee. "I'm going to keep this promise. He's using me to show how big He really is."