If sometimes you’re discouraged with the world and the way it is, don’t give up! We read that usually governments and armies and wars and great powers, great empires, change history and the face of the earth. So sometimes we’re discouraged and think, “Well, who am I? What can I do? It all seems so hopeless and impossible!


“It looks like there’s nothing that one person can do to change things for the better, so what’s the use of trying, what’s the use of doing anything?” And we’re tempted to just give up and let the world go to hell, which it seems to deserve!

You may not be able to change the whole world, but you can change your part of the world.
If you have changed one life, you have changed a part of the world, and you have proven that there is hope that it can all be changed! If one life can be changed, it shows that there’s a possibility that more lives can be changed and many lives can be changed and whole areas can be redeemed and the world can be changed, starting even with one person, just one person—maybe you!

You say we can’t change the world? It’s too late, too bad, too big, too difficult? Well, why don’t you just try changing your part of the world?

Why don’t you start with you—your own heart, your own mind, your own spirit, your own life. If you even change your life, you’ve changed a whole universe, the universe of your body, and the sphere in which you live. The place and the very atmosphere around you will be changed if you change yourself by the power of God’s love!

You can start individually, personally, just you, maybe only your little family, planting seeds of love and truth, one by one, heart by heart, day by day, wherever you may be.

Day by day constantly, faithfully, diligently, patiently plant seed by seed, heart by heart, life by life, dropping that little seed of the truth of God’s Word into that empty hole of an empty heart, then covering it up with the loving warmth of God’s love and trusting God’s Spirit, God’s great warm sunshine of His love and the water of His Word to bring forth the miracle of new life.

It may seem only a tiny little bud at first, just a little sprig, just one insignificant little green shoot. What is that to a great and mighty land? What is that to the forest that’s needed? Well, it’s a beginning. It’s the beginning of the miracle of new life, and it will thrive and grow and grow and become great and strong into a whole new tree, a whole new life, and maybe a whole new world! So why not try it?

You say you can’t change the world? Well, why don’t you try? Why don’t you try changing your part of the world, change your world, the world of your own life—your family, your home, your neighbors, your town, and let’s just see what might happen!

You say, “What’s the use? I can’t do anything; I’m only one person. Who am I?”
Let me tell you, you can begin today to change the world!
You can’t change the world? Oh yes you can!
I know this much: I have changed the world in which I live! Are you changing yours?

Change the world! Start today! Change your own life, change your home, change your town, change your country! Change the world!



 

Volunteering for Home Start

Face painting at Barnet council event for children. The mayor of Barnet, Councillor Anthony Finn looks on.

 I have started the 9 week training programme for Home Start, Barnet, a local Charity. Home Start is a charity that offers support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children.
It is a unique service. Trained volunteers who are usually parents themselves visit families with at least one child under 5 at home to offer informal, friendly and confidential support.They help any family that lives in the borough of Barnet, who has at least one child under 5 and is going through a difficult time. This can be anything from feeling isolated, being new to the area, suffering from post natal depression or finding it hard to cope with twins or triplets.
Volunteers visit the family once a week and support them in a variety of practical or emotional ways. They may accompany the parent on outings, shopping trips or to keep appointments, play with the children while the parent gets on with something else at home or has a much-needed rest, or simply sit and chat if that is what is needed. It’s simple, but it works!
They also offer:
Group support
Teenage parents programme
Parenting programmes
Family events & activities
My training will finish in November and then I will be eligible to start visiting a family as a volunteer. The prep course itself has been very eye-opening, informative and rewarding. It's very hands-on and discussion oriented with lots of group activities. The group of about 20 other trainee volunteers have as a diverse a background and ethnicity as the borough of Barnet itself! In our group we have volunteer-trainees that originally have come from Afghanastan, Germany, Isreal, Nepal, Kenya, India, America, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and oh yes, England! Ages range from early 20's to late 50's. During this training time, irregardless of the differences in background and culture, we have bonded together as a group and have formed new friendships. The subject matter has been very interesting. Quite a few "guest speakers" have attended and we are learning about all kinds of resources available for children in Barnet as well as a review of parenting skills and certain problems that families might encounter such as children with special needs, depression bereavemnet, mulitple births, etc.
I am looking forward to when I will begin visiting my first family and am happy to be involved with such a worthwhile charity.

More Clothes for Needy in Ghana

 

We were able to spend more time collecting and organzing clothes to be given to needy people in Ghana. This time we recieved ladies dresses, blouses and skirts. They are very nice, brand new items, generously donatedfrom the warehouse, to help those in need.

Here is Dawn, sorting and packing them up.

 

Susan and David, in Portsmouth, where we transported them to.

Susan has a small storage facility where she can store them until there is enough to ship over to Ghana again. She also has a quantity of books for children and now is looking for working computers to add to the supplies to be given to Ghana.

Clothes for Children in Ghana

I had the opportunity to collect clothes and organize the distribution to needy families, individuals and organizations. Some of the clothes travelled all the way to Africa, where they were distributed to poor children at a school where several TFI members have an ongoing project. Here are some photos of them being given to the children at the school.

 A boy tries this shirt on for size.

These two children have new clothes to wear  home. 

 Susan (back row, centre) took the clothes to Africa from England where she distributed them to the children in  this needy school in Ghana.