On Easter morning 2010 everyone was given £10 and invited to
share the love of God in some way.
People thought hard and prayed about what they would do and
here are some of the way the Easter joy and love of God was spread around the world:
- One family gave their
money to MIND in memory of a loved one
- One person has decided to
use his to buy ingredients for a cream tea to which we will invite our
neighbours to offer hospitality and to get to know them all a bit better.
- One of the young people
had been doing a Bungee Jump for the One Foundation to buy play-pumps for
villages and schools in Africa. So some of the £10 notes went to
increase the money she had raised
- Sending the ripples of
God’s love across the world
- One person read in an
email that one of her missionary friends needed provision for her contact lens
prescription, so she doubled her £10 note and sent £20 to help.
- Another man doubled his
gift and sent £20 to an African called Mike. Mike used to be a street boy
and now he works with street boys and helps them in their everyday
lives.
- Two young people have
decided to use their money to buy some tomato seeds and materials to grow
and sell…
- One lady has had a picture
and thinks that her money is for a tree – she is waiting on God to find
out more…
- One family shared that
they were awestruck by their gift of £50
- and thought it was ‘a
tremendous leap of faith.’ Well with such a burden on our shoulders we
decided (all 5 of us) to give it, plus £50 more, to Lt Col Moreland (he
lives in Craddock) who is running 50 miles a day for 17 days from John
O’Groats to Lands End. What a big heart he must have to do this for his
lost friends and such dedication/self belief to want to do it.
- One couple gave their Easter
silver envelopes with our prayers and much joy to the Exmouth
Branch of the RNLI. It was received with grateful thanks.
- A
mother and daughter decided to give their money to the wooden spoon (a charity
for disabled sports people) in memory of Simon.
-
One of the young people
decided to give their money to the school CU called Fusion. The CU have
decided to think about how they can increase it and support Christian Aid
–multiplying the ripples of God’s love.
- One Mum wants to use her
£10 to organise a fundraiser for the new youth and children’s ministry
project the churches are setting up in Uffculme.
- One of the children
decided he wanted his gift to support children in Uganda and is planning
to try to double it by selling chocolate crispies.
- A couple gave their Easter
gift to the Exeter Leukaemia fund
- One family who had spent
all weekend cooking breakfasts and raising money for Mercy Ships added
their gifts and the gifts of several other members of the congregation
taking the total to over £265
- One lady wrote to share
how her £10 had been used to buy diesel and some treats for lunch for an
elderly relative – who went home with enough chocolate cheesecake and
Easter cake to last her a week! She wrote ‘The Easter gift made an elderly
lady very happy’.
- A family of three put their
money together to buy 3 rose bushes for three members of the family to
remember a loved one and have a place in their gardens to pray.
- Another lady sent her gift
to South Africa to Sweet Home Farm
One gift went to help pay
for cataract operations in Sudan. - A couple sent their money to Thailand to encourage a grandmother and widow who serves God's mission faithfully day by day.
What they said about the experience of giving away £10 ...
"We thought it was a brilliant
idea and something out of the ordinary."
"It was exciting to decide what
to do with the £10's we got." "I love the way God just gives his love to us unconditionally and invites us to be part of his generosity and mission to bring healing and wholeness to the world."
"We decided to match it and then
give it away and then we prayed about it
(which was cool!). There are absolutely loads of
ways you could give this money away and loads of people who may need this money
and to whittle it down to just one cause/person seemed quite impossible. However, we have done it, so it wasn't that bad!!
Thank you for the opportunity to
give away some money, get excited about it and bless two people in the
process!!" And God's love and generosity will continue to be poured into our lives in the coming year, so let's keep finding ways to share it with others.
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