It started with a dream. “Let’s give away 50 bags of groceries and 50 turkeys for Thanksgiving in a low income neighborhood,” one of my friends suggested. I laughed. It was a sarcastic laugh. Sort of like Sarah’s laugh when God announced she would give birth past her child bearing age.

But I dared to dream. I dared to believed. I dared to trust. And as we stepped out in faith, God provided beyond we could ask think or imagine. We fed 53 families, gave away 56 turkeys. And there was money left.

So we decided to take what was left and blessed a smaller neighborhood in Apex for Christmas.

But once again God did more than we could ask, think, or imagine.

What God did:

Saturday, my friend and I gave away flyers about the event. We advertised there would be  Hot Dogs when we had no idea how we were going to offer hot dogs.

Saturday night, a friend texted and volunteered to help. “Can you bring a grill and grill hot dogs,” I asked. “Absolutely,” he replied.

On Monday, another Pastor texted and offered us the excess from his outreach. Suddenly, we had more food than people in the neighborhood. We now had enough to feed three times the amount we had planned.

This also created another problem. Our original venue was not big enough. We prayed. God provided the perfect venue just up the street from our original venue.

Throughout the week, people donated clothing, toys, and their precious time.

The young kids really enjoyed the toys. I spoke to one mom, encouraging her to take whatever she needed. She said, “You had a lot of sensory processing toys and that was just what my son needs. Thank you so much.”

Earlier in the week, one friend (the same friend who suggested we feed 50 people for Thanksgiving) suggested we needed music at the event. I felt as if God had done so much, I couldn’t ask for more. But God.

The day of the event, a man known as the Spin Man, offered to volunteer. He spins a basketball on a cross while preaching the Gospel. I welcomed him. Well, not only did he performed his show, he also had speakers on his truck. He blasted Christmas music as well.

God provided everything we needed. We gave away bags of groceries, turkeys, clothes, and toys. We fed. But most importantly we loved.  We preached the Gospel. We prayed for people. We were His hands and feet to a community in need, to people disenfrachised, to moms needing encouragement, to people with a past, to the hurting. We represented our Father’s love.

I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness. I am in awe how much God Loved this small community.

I encourage you to dream as well. If you step out of the boat, God will meet you where you are. If you have a heart to bring healing and hope, start small and watch what God will do.

“When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late.

“You give them something to eat,” he responded.
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:35, 37‬ ‭CSB