Face to Face

We have many supporters of our work who give financial donations, but I feel that too many donors are missing out on a very meaningful part of helping the poor. Seeing the faces of those we are helping is a great blessing to me and it's a blessing I'd love to share with many more of you.

The experience of meeting someone in need face-to-face has helped deepen my spiritual life, and I'm sure it will bring satisfaction and new meaning to your own life if you took the plunge, stepped out of your comfort zone, and met some of the poor whom you, or your church, supports so generously.

Several ladies from Love and Truth Church, a Korean congregation in Hong Kong, have been serving a monthly luncheon for around 60 people for just over two years. They prepare the food at home, and bring it to our Service Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. This physical act of service is a blessing for everyone.

Sonya and Amy, two of the Koreans, told us, “It took a while for us to figure out what they liked to eat. Now we can serve them meals they enjoy every time we come. At first it was difficult because we didn't understand why nobody smiled at us, or tried to talk to us. We have learnt that it’s natural for them to be depressed when they have lost everything.” For refugees and asylum seekers who can do nothing in Hong Kong but wait for their cases to be decided by the UNHCR, feelings of isolation and a sense of being ‘useless’ quickly develop into depression. Sharing a meal with others lessens the feeling of isolation.

The service by the Korean ladies is a demonstration of obedience to the teaching of Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan, and the second part of the Greatest Commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love in our faces, and in our helping hands, is as valuable, if not more so, to victims of injustice as a financial gift.

Will you encourage your church to come and meet the poor face to face as you share your food with them?