Nourish

After the birth of our son in 2013, our church provided meals for two weeks, as Rebekah recovered from a very difficult delivery. Our neighbour across the road was recently in the hospital for five weeks. When he returned home, my husband also cooked food for him for two weeks. In December 2024, our neighbour thanked us, telling us that he volunteers for a charity, looking after 16 children, who are aged 16–19 and have left care or were too old for foster care. Knowing we were Christians, he asked if we could get the local churches to help.

Two churches took part and two colleagues from Rebekah’s workplace. But what amazed us was the generosity of our neighbours. We knocked on the doors of 72 neighbours, giving them a little bag, with a Christmas card, a large Dairy Milk chocolate bar and a can of Coca-Cola or similar. There was also an invitation to come to our home for a Christmas party on 14 December and donate items to this charity. 14 neighbours took part! We were able to get to know our neighbours better and also provided 16 boxes full of hats, socks, games, chocolate, books, etc. All 16 kids got a medium-sized box wrapped in Christmas paper and we had seven larger boxes left over with items that could be distributed to those who had not long left supported accommodation.

This all started with a prayer drive. We prayed seven times up and down our long street. Even better, our neighbour has now asked us to take him to church! Our love in action can serve as a powerful witness to our neighbours of God’s sacrificial love, bringing them closer to knowing Him and His desire for them.

Prayer:

Give thanks for the power of generosity to build connections and transform communities. Pray for those who have aged out of foster care or supported accommodation, that they would find hope, stability, and love through acts of kindness. Ask God to inspire you and your church to reach out to your neighbours and serve your local community with creativity and compassion.

Take a 40acts challenge today:

1. Share a kind message (card, text, email) with someone who might be struggling with poor health or the loss of a loved one.
2. Cook an extra portion of your next meal and share it with a neighbour or friend in need.
3. Organise a meal rota with others to provide home-cooked meals over the next week or more for someone who is facing a personal challenge.