"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God
Who has made heaven and earth...
who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry." Ps. 146:5-7

In the four weeks following Ash Wednesday, we at All Souls were challenged to keep bowls in our homes and fill them with money for hungry families in Kenya. On Sunday, March 18 we gathered our offerings together, and what a beautiful scene: so many coming forward with their gifts, led by eager children who were delighting in their giving!

Through your generosity, 102 families living in the slums of Dandora in Kenya will have food to eat for the month of April! Thank you! The $1531.22 collected (we put the coin machine at Chase to the test, and the tellers were impressed) has been sent to Kenya Children's Fund to arrive in time for Easter.

If you didn't have a chance to bring your money yet, you can still bring it and it will be used to help the school.

I loved hearing some of the stories of how you all made this month a special time of giving. One family gave the same amount of money they spent on their own food for the month; the children of another family took money they had been saving for a special toy and put it in their bowl for Kenya instead. And a young visiting high schooler was moved by the pictures she saw and went to her high school and raised $55! These stories inspire me, and will be sent on to bless the families in Kenya and encourage those who are working to help those families.

If you have a story from your experience, please pass it along to help encourage all of us!

May God bless and reward you for your caring hearts and your generous giving. My prayer for these gifts is that the food will sustain their bodies, but the love from us will sustain their hope, and point them to Christ, the Bread of Life.

Kathy Cathey, for Missions and Evangelism (M&E)