Thank you for your many acts of kindness in response to the impact Hurricane Matthew has had on Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH).
We are so grateful for your help and for the many ways you shared your love with “one of the least of these” mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew: they were hungry and you gave them food; they were thirsty and you gave them water; they needed clothes and you clothed them.
In Mark 10: 13-16, Jesus shares how important children are to Him. He implores us to welcome the children. In verse 16, scripture reads that He picked the children up in His arms and blessed them. Since 1885, BCH has welcomed children and blessed them in the name of Jesus.
Thank you for following Jesus’ example.
In the midst of continuing to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, we are preparing for Christmas.
For many children, Christmas is a time of family coming together. Picture in your mind a family gathered around the table filled with wonderful food. The aroma of Christmas cookies wafts throughout the house. The house fills with laughter and joy. A beautiful Christmas tree sits in a corner surrounded by presents. The children gather around the tree and family members open presents. They smile because it is that one present for which they hoped. The image may look like a Norman Rockwell picture. But for many children and families, this is not reality.
I am reminded that the Christ Child did not come to bring joy, hope and peace for some children; He came for all children. Christmas can be a very difficult time. I do not remember a Christmas week at BCH when a child or family did not come to us in desperate need. It’s heartbreaking to see the hurt in the eyes of the children. But when a child comes to us having been removed from her home on Christmas Eve or when a child in care has no word from family on Christmas – words cannot describe the heartache.
I ask you once again to follow Christ’s example in Mark 10:13-16. I ask you to help us make room for the children. I ask you to be like the Star of Bethlehem leading them to the One who brings hope and peace. I ask you to welcome them and bless them in the name of Jesus.
A mother and her two boys have nowhere to turn. Hungry and alone, she turns to BCH for help. Thanks to you, there is room for them and they are welcomed. There is food for her family, a safe place, and help to sustain them. Arms are wrapped around them and they are blessed in the name of Jesus with the hope of Christmas.
As additional families come to us, will you help us make room for them?
You are the willing arms to hold children and families in crisis. You are the eager hands to help wipe away the tears. Because you care enough to give, you touch lives with hope and love.
Remember, Christmas is not just one day a year in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord. Christmas is 365 days a year as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. One of my favorite Christmas quotes is “Christmas my child, is love in action…every time we give, it’s Christmas.”
You have already given beyond measure this year as you have helped us to impact nearly 22,000 individuals.
Thank you.
Every year there are more children to be embraced with God’s love – in the name of Jesus. You will find an envelope in this issue of Charity & Children for your special Christmas gift. Please enclose your gift in the addressed, postage free envelope and mail it today!
In all of the activity of the holidays, it can be difficult to find Christ in Christmas. But take time to embrace “our” children and you will see Him in the smile of a young girl who has been battered and abused but now has a loving houseparent who offers hope and blessing in the name of Jesus. Look closely and you will see Him in the face of a mother who has food to feed her two boys and a safe place of refuge. Look closely and you will see Him in you reaching out to help heal a child’s broken heart.
P.S. I thought you might like to know that Pat, one of our prayer warriors extraordinaire, prays and, out of gratitude, often cries over every gift. Her prayer is that God will use your faithfulness in a mighty way to build His kingdom.