“Dear Love INC,

Four years ago I felt so hopeless about my financial situation. I was a single mom with too many bills and not enough income, and I had nearly lost hope. A friend suggested I contact Love INC for support, and I’m so glad I did.

Love INC helped with me with immediate relief by giving me connection to an area food pantry. At Christmas time, I was invited to come and pick out gifts and hats and mittens for my children. These acts of kindness were done in such a way that my dignity was preserved and I was treated with respect.

What helped me the most was the budget counseling I received through Love INC at Forest Park Covenant Church. I’ll never forget that first night, showing up with all my bills and my checkbook and breaking down in tears because I felt so ashamed. But my mentor saw past that, and he believed that I would get through it. He helped me to make up a budget, and he was a great encourager to me as I learned to stick to the budget and plan ahead.

Four years later, I am still using the bill organizer that was given to me on that first night. I don’t live in poverty anymore. I went back to school and got my degree in accounting, of all things! I’ve been set free from that financial stronghold, praise God! Thank you, Love INC, for believing in me and equipping me with the tools I needed to move forward and succeed.”

Sincerely,

Patty

A member of Lake Harbor UMC was fostering 2 little boys. She is a single professional lady. Last week she unexpectedly got custody of the 1 week old sibling. I’m not sure of the circumstances but within days, the children were in a very serious car accident. The foster mom who had not had time to get anything for the baby, needed to be at the hospital with the little boys. The baby then needed to be cared for by others. The church prayer chain went into action and we heard about the accident and that the baby needed clothes, diapers etc. as the foster mom had not had time to get them. We offered a complete layette as well as diapers and wipes from our supply. This is Love in Action and how we “help churches help people”. It is also a reminder to the church that we are here to help.

Two clients recently wanted to give back in their own way for the help they received through our Love INC network of churches. One offered a volunteer fish he had caught and the other offered to volunteer at the church. Accepting these offers from our clients give them value

Recently, Penny called us as she heard about our Managing Your Money program from her friend Nancy Weller, coordinator for the Grandparents raising Grandchildren support group. Penny’s husband recently passed away and she is trying to learn to live on one income; she is also raising her 11 year old grandson. We assigned Penny a mentor and she began working with Janie soon after. She was behind in her bills, but was working hard to make good choices. We offered to help with a utility bill but she didn’t want it unless there was absolutely no way she could work it out. Her weekly progress reports confirmed that she was not only improving in her budgeting skills, but growing in her faith in God. Last week Janie informed us that Penny gave her life to Christ and has begun classes to join Fifth Reformed Church. Praise God for this new believer. This story confirms to me that we are doing what God wants us to do and shows how God works and puts us where we can be used by Him to further His kingdom.

The day of our Open House I received a call from one of our clients to see if we had received a bed yet for her and her husband who is recovering from a kidney transplant. He had been sleeping on the floor since his surgery as their bed was really bad and gave him no support. When taking a tour group through the warehouse, it was noted that we didn’t have a lot of furniture and no beds. It gave me the opportunity to explain our policy for furniture and the continual need we have. One woman asked if we could use a queen size bed. I told her about the earlier phone call. Another woman offered to have her husband pick up the bed the next day and deliver it right to the clients’ home. I believe a miracle took place that day.