NO PRIZES...

...for guessing where I was today!  I actually got to the Community Fridge earlier than normal because there was a little cleaning job I wanted to do before sorting out the fruit and vegetables, both of which I managed in plenty of time before we opened the doors at 11 o’clock.  

I was wondering who I could capture as my subject today and decided that it would be Vicki, who kindly agreed and who is working in the office hub of the Community Fridge and Boxes of Hope - which are not actually boxes but bags!

So what colour is hope for you?  The bags come in all colours and today’s photograph shows blue and red, but there are other colours too.  These bags go out every week to families who need them because of changes to financial circumstances, such as redundancies, reduction in working hours, waiting for benefits, children being at home more often, relationship breakdowns, illnesses, shielding etc.  They each have a beautiful hand-made label tied onto the handle, with a hand-written message on the back, which includes their name and also a greeting from Gorse Hill Baptist Church, which Vicki was writing as I caught her on camera.  All the volunteers were given their badges today and you can just about see Vicki’s.  If you want to know more about the Boxes of Hope at the Church, you can read about it here.  

Life can be very difficult for many people so it’s good that our Church can help those families both in the immediate community and beyond who are struggling to make ends meet.  The dedicated Team has been overwhelmed seeing God at work in so many ways, both at the Community Fridge, which is open 3 days a week and also when delivering the bags.  It is such a worthwhile venture and we work hard together as a Team but we also have a lot of fun too.  

“You are not here merely to make a living, 
     you are here in order to enable the world 
          to live more amply, with greater vision, 
               with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. 
You are here to enrich the world, 
     and you impoverish yourself 
          if you forget the errand.” 
Woodrow Wilson

P.S. Thank you for all your kind comments about the Four Baptist men yesterday, which were much appreciated.  However, it was too hot to go on the computer when I got home from our Evening Service so we sat in the garden with our lovely neighbours and chatted over a cold drink.