“It has been & continues to be an amazing, rewarding, faith affirming experience” says Liz Heath, who is running the new Food Hub at Wantirna Church. “It has been an incredibly busy time and I’ve had a huge learning curve as we definitely started running before we could crawl!”
With support from other ADRA project leaders (Sue from ADRA FTG and BB from ADRA Casey), they now run weekly deliveries to 30 or more families. Because the team wants to build relationships with their clients, they call them throughout the week and have the same driver deliver to the same clients each week.
Meeting the spiritual needs of the clients is as important to the team as their physical needs. “Each week, as clients share some of their struggles with me, I ask if they would like us to pray for them. We choose three clients each week & start our packing day each Thursday praying for them as a team, and each of us continues to pray for them throughout the week.”
Church members are supporting this project either with their time (25 volunteers help make this a success) or with donations. They ran a Winter Warmers Appeal and were able to deliver twelve bags of jackets, fleecy trackies and thick socks to Sue at ADRA FTG.
“I have just seen so much generosity and have never felt God more present. Every week, sometimes every day, He provides for our client’s needs. Sometimes I’ve just started thinking – maybe I need someone to do a particular job & before I can ask somebody my phone will ring with someone offering to do anything I want!”
They have had clients tell them that no other agency has treated them the way they are treated at the Food Hub. One member donated money to purchase a computer for a 13 year old boy with aspergers. The grateful mother sent a photo of her son smiling for the first time, sitting in front of his new computer which would enable him to zoom school and socialise during lockdown.
Liz has many more stories of the connections that God has made, bringing people together at the right time, opening doors when they are firmly shut but needed, providing more and more.
“Like is said,” she concludes, “He is very present.”