News from Rev Helen at Holme Wood
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Your generous gifts to the parish of Tong, Holme Wood and Laisterdyke have brought hope and light to many precious people. It has enabled us to keep our emergency food store stocked up with the essentials - milk, cereal, tea, coffee, sugar, tinned pies, meat, vegetables, dried pasta, rice, washing powder, toilet rolls and the sweet treats which always bring a smile. Your gift has also enabled us to help those who are particularly struggling and enabled us to top up their electricity or gas meters.
A story from this week which highlights how much I still have to learn (despite having lived in Holmewood for nearly 6 years)
A friend of a friend from one of our congregations who knew we were having our Harvest, called to drop a bag of food off for our Harvest Festival. It was still just inside the front door when the next caller of the morning came, and he spied the Rice Krispies in the bag - I offered them to him – he was very grateful and especially pleased as they were Kellogg’s!
We usually give a bag that is made up ready – we have a stack of them under the desk in the study. But as the Harvest bag had just arrived and he was so pleased with the Rice Krispies, I thought we’d see what else was in the bag. A bag of Pasta next, I offered it to him and he said no thanks, he’d not had electricity for 2 weeks so he couldn’t cook anything, he wouldn’t mind the tinned meat, he could eat that cold.
We talked further and arranged for him to come back with his electricity card – together we walked over to the local corner shop and I was able (due to your generous gift) to put some money on his card. He was so grateful; he went home and had a shower - he came back to show me he was clean shaven and feeling so much better.
Sometimes we feel what we share is a drop in the ocean – but for those who have so very little, any drop given and shared can make a huge difference.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you."
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