“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

Our supporters are doing some amazing things by giving to Hope into Action this Christmas. We are so grateful for every single donation made to us whether it is via The Big Give Challenge, a cheque in the post or an Advent Appeal at your church.

What we love about these gifts is how they enable change in someone’s life.

We rejoice in the giving and we celebrate the impact of the gifts on people who need it most.

Thanks to our supporters, a young woman like Lizzy featured in our Big Give appeal could be moving into one of our homes before Christmas.

What might that mean to them?

Last week I was privileged to hear a current tenant sharing their Hope into Action story. They described how:

“It’s been the love in the houses that’s been healing.

It saves lives. It changes lives and it ripples out into the community.

Love’s at the heart of it.

The love of the workers and everyone involved, that’s what got me going.”

This was from someone who said he had been “born into chaos”. Let’s call him Ben. Ben thought he was unlovable and he became very anxious. As he grew up he found drink and drugs.

“You’ve seen me on the streets.”

All through the chaos Ben never blamed God. But he couldn’t commit. Ben says his home has given him the stability to get baptised, “To sort myself out”, attend doctors’ and dental appointments.

“The safety I’ve experienced means I don’t have to have my curtains closed.”

 

Another of our tenants who moved in six months ago was also lost, struggling with depression and severe social anxiety. He is now attending church every week, has joined a discipleship course, has now enrolled on his very first maths and English course. He is now serving on the media team at church. We have seen such incredible growth in him, he is shining and his life is being changed!!

And your gifts can result in the most amazing move-ons! 

One couple moved into a Hope into Action house after years of heartbreak. They had lost children to the care system. House evictions resulted in years of homelessness. And historical heroin addiction and yoyo recovery seasons. A council refusing to house them due to arrears. Private landlords refusing to house them due to poor credit history and a seeming inability to manage money.

They have pushed even us to inches from eviction, and challenged our stance on grace in action versus boundaries and consequences.

BUT, not so long ago, our Empowerment Worker had the absolute privilege to see the couple pick up the keys to their new 2 bedroom flat. They leave our house engaging so well in all aspects of their recovery. They regularly meet with social workers for their children to rebuild access. The dad has maintained full time employment throughout. We have had a consistent year of them showing growth and determination, and HOPE for their future that they so obviously once ruled out. Not only that, they saved the deposit for their new place themselves (and this time last year, saving £20 was a challenge).

These are stories from just a handful of our tenants. We give thanks that 248 tenants, formerly struggling with homelessness have homes tonight. They are surrounded by the love of 81 churches. 3 more new homes are due to open between now and Christmas!

We feel such gratitude to anyone whose heart has been touched to be a part of this ministry. You are so important to us! Every special gift brings us a step closer to our vision of churches leading the way in giving the homeless a home.

Thank you – we could not do this work without you.

To read more amazing stories have a look at our most recent Annual Review here: 2020-2021 Annual Review