Autumn 2012 Update

Hello everyone! We from the Core Team at the Besom in Woking want to give you a cheery greeting on this dismal October morn and to help fill your hearts with joy at the work of Jesus in our community, to give witness to God’s answers to pray, to say a huge thank you for the incredible giving in the community of Woking!!

Besom continues to serve the needs of recipients in our area:we will post a general outline of our work and how we function BUT what we want to share is the amazing answers to prayer and links that are being forged ….
* offer of a futon just a few hours after a father with care of his three children specifically asked for one so that his children could have a friend to stay occasionally. We responded that they are rarely offered but we would contact him as soon as one was …… imagine his surprise when we called him back the same day to say we were collecting one two days later and could bring it straight to him: what an act of witness to a non-Christian?!! It was in perfect condition – what a blessing too to the giver to know that it was going to be delivered immediately in response to a declared need – we told both giver and receiver that we had prayed for the need to be met – and it was!
* We now have Time Givers from 6 churches in Woking – we have great community together meeting to pray and worship before we set off on the van, in cars or stay at the warehouse to sort, clean, tidy,organise for future van deliveries. There is great affinity between us – all striving to fulfill our purpose as Chrsitians – to serve the needs of others.
* Saturday Besom – the last saturday of the month gives a great opportunity for full time workers to reach out to those in need either by delivering goods, doing a project – be it decorating or garden, putting up curtain track, laying carpet – the list goes on ….
* Recently several House/pastorate Groups from the Coign and Christchurch have done both decorating and garden projects for recipients. Quote from lady whose hedge (the subject of an ongoing neighbour dispute) had 12′ taken off it and the whole garden tidied and cleared “I cannot tell you how much thismeans to my daughter and I: it feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and now I can maintain it myself to a reasonable height. You are like Angels!”
* Many recipients need a cooker when they are housed – we cannot always keep up with demand. On Friday last week a generous giver donated enough to buy two new cookers for two families who will be so amazed to receive a brand new cooker next week!! Isn’t that just awesome??
Will be back soon ……..

March/April 2012 Update …..

Saturday morning team of Time Givers offered to give their time ….. two families were asking for “tip runs”. So the group, suitably attired, pitched in to bless two families by clearing their gardens of mountains of rubbish and broken furniture and white goods. Lots of muscle, big smiles and fair weather made the morning a great success. Rosa rang to express her immense gratitude for “the band of Angels” who both cleared her garden of an unhealthy build up of black bags and also delivered a table and chairs: her kids can now play in the garden and they can eat meals at a table like a proper family! She said they were an answer to her prayers.
The second family now have a clear garden and have promised to say “No” to any offers of “stuff” so the garden will not fill up again with unwanted/broken items! This family feel that Besom and CAP have given them a fresh start:please pray that they will continue to rise to the challenges of life and enjoy their family life together.

What an amazing Saturday team! They even carried on despite injury ….. hope it is better Jeff?!

Early April …..
We met Sarah, a fragile, shy mother of two girls – living with no floor coverings: concrete floor downstairs, floorboards upstairs, no curtains or tracks …. sheets pinned above the windows. Sarah had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for 3years. The social worker who referred us warned that Sarah may not accept help, may be very reticent and wary: she finds it difficult to trust people. When we turned up with the van a few days later with a beautiful double divan bed,2 lovely bedside cabinets, mattress covers for her bed and the childrens, linen, pillows, a gorgeous rug for her bedroom, lamps, a box of gorgeous toiletries from our wonderful young Mums and a shepherds pie and apple crumble meal from the freezer …..Sarah was amazed and said “Today has been a miracle”!
Sarah has had her children christened at the local church nad we have put her in touch with the Mum and Toddler group there ….. Prayers please!

More answers to prayer …..
1. Anne, a recipient with parental responsibility for 3 grandchildren, rang to ask if we ever were given a PC as it would be great for the children to do their homework. My reply was “rarely: and even if we are offered them we are a bit wary as we do not provide IT support: we need it ourselves!!” Guess what? Opened the PC up to check emails – first one was offering us a PC!! Of course we should not be amazed – God has it all sorted.

2. Jo, mother of four,has just had her garage converted to a fourth bedroom by the council ….. did we have a carpet? Well yea we did actually but when we measured it this morning it was not large enough for the room.We prayed for carpet large enough to cover the room ….. Within two minutes the phone rang offering us a houseful of carpet,all the same!! Well God that is an over answer to prayer! Jo has had her garage bedroom carpeted and we will soon collect more carpet to bless others. To complete the bedroom we just needed a 2.4m pole to put up the gorgeous brown curtains we found at the warehouse: back there to look for a pole ….. yes, you’ve got it – there right in front of the warehouse was a brand new white 2.4m curtain pole with all the fittings still in its packaging!! Thank you God – again and again and again.

3. Recipient today found to be in need of double bed: two phone calls followed, the first offering a double bed frame and mattress (sadly the mattress had no fire tag so we could not accept it); the second offering a fire-tagged mattress. No surprise there then!!

If you are still reading please keep your prayers going for Besom – for giving ot time, goods and money and for being able to bless so many in our local community with the grace and love of God. It is awesome to be involved.
If you are interested why not come to our OPEN MORNING on Sat April 28th 2012 10am – 12/12.30
at the Warehouse, Unit 13, Pankhurst Farm, Bagshot Road, West End

March 2012 Update

WOW! busy, busy month – 8 new assessments: all with varying needs in both terms of projects and of items. This month has seen us have cookers in store …. surplus to immediate requirements. Unheard of! God over answering our prayers.

Our wonderful friend and servant of the Lord – Kit has now become a PAT tester ( not sure what it stands for but it certifies that electrical items meet certain requirements!) He continues to respond rapidly to pleading texts to fit yet another washing machine or cooker. What a star he is!!

Snippets ….
From a social worker by email
“I wanted to thank you so much for thefurniture you were able to give to my family on Maybury recently. Mum was so thrilled with the shoe rack and talked about it all the way to the Dr’sappointment. She said she never knew people like you existed!!!”

An email received this week from another social worker asked for help to clear a house following the very sudden death of 13 year old Charles’ Mum, leaving him an orphan in the temporary care of a wonderful neighbour:the housing association want the house cleared by March 27th …. can we help? We prayed for Charles, his Mum and for help!Then just ten minutes later a text message offered a Pastorate Group to do a saturday project, this week! What brilliant timing Lord – you also supplied sunshine and many willing helpers! There was a trip to the dump, some items to the Hospice warehouse and now a van full of items sitting at Besom waiting to be delivered to recipients next week – table, chairs, shelves, cooker, fridge etc etc. Wonderful but also so sad.

February 2012 Update

Recent snippets …
Assessment last Friday of a young man with both physical and mental health issues found that he had been sleeping rough/B&B’s for months and was now housed in his own small flat in Westfield. Bare floors and just a single fold out chair bed to sleep on with a small TV and white plastic garden chair, a mug, knife fork and spoon, a plate and a kettle + some bedding and a few clothes were his only posessions. The van had just been to pick up a single bed! So a quick call and diversion for the van led to this young man being provided with a lovely bed,bedding, carpet bits for the floor and kitchen items ….. more to follow next week.

Testimony to the power of prayer and the absolute generosity and kindness of so many to their community – the Coign church Christmas collection continues to flow in, with another huge check added this week …… oh how gracious is our Lord, how great is his provision.

The Pamper Evening …… what an enormous success for receivers and for givers of time /goods and skills. 12 Besom ladies attended – one gave her life to Jesus after the testimony!! How Great is our God, How Great is our God!
Everyone had a wonderful relaxed evening with delicious food, great treatments and fun – all in God’s house!

January 2012 Update

text message from a recipient:-

“I prayed for you this morning. Thank you for all you have done and are doing for my family.”

another recipient said :-
“Hi, the kitchen seems so much bigger with the new Fridge freezer. Thank you for all your kindness and hardwork. There was a time I thought no one cared. How wrong I was.”

From a social worker:-
Thank you so much for providing the curtains for my client- they are a perfect fit! I realise she is not probably the most destitute of clients that you have had, but she has really been through a terrible time and I know your kindness has meant a lot to her. Thanks again for your hard work.

4 new recipients assessed in the last 2 weeks; we have been able to fulfill most of their needs very quickly and seen an amazing answer to prayer – a washing machine being offered on the day that a family moved to a flat without one!

God is awesome! Fill us up and send us out ……….

January 2012

Well its way past time for a breathless Besom! You might imagine that we have taken our foot off the accelerator?

What has been going on over the past few weeks/months in the world of Besom in the community of Woking ? ……

In short Besom has been busy,busy,busy ….. constant flow of referral of recipients from many outside agencies, amazing giving of wonderful goods, incredible giving of cash over the Christmas period, a pledge to pay all the fuel costs for the van for the year, completion of 8 big decorating or garden projects by groups from many different churches …….

And enormous fellowship amongst all the time givers! Some real examples …

Angela came out of the Refuge on 16th Dec ….she had absolutely nothing other than personal clothes for her and her children. With 2 days notice that Angela was being housed by the council and with prayer by the ton we have been able to “kit her flat out”!! Carpetted two bedrooms, gave three beds, table and chairs (she has NEVER sat at her own table to eat!),wall units,large TV and DVD player crockery, cutlery, linen, towels etc etc. We had no white goods to give her,so prayer was upped – a cooker was given and cash to purchase a microwave. This all happened whilst waiting for her community care grant which has allowed her to purchase all the missing items! Curtains and track were fitted last week! So in a month Angela and her children have been given a “home” …thanks to you all. ALLELULIA!

Jo has 4 children: Billy the eldest mostly lives with Dad but they all want Billy to be able to stay with Mum too. To arrange rooms for Billy to come home meant a complete rearrangement of beds and rooms ….all 3 bedrooms needed decorating too!

SO – a huge project requiring quite a few people to coordinate, cleaning, clearing, removing beds and carpets then decorating and providing a cabin bed for Billy in the small box room, a new bed for Poppy and a bunk with single top and double futon at bottom for Jo and eldest daughter – ALL IN ONE DAY!!!

SO WE PRAYED – a Coign/Christchurch team offered their time and the Lord provided the rest!! …. Including carpets for all the rooms – AND – IT WAS ALL DONE IN ONE DAY!!!!! It was just the most amazing project ever. Billy cried when he saw his room ….oh yes I forgot we were even able to provide coat hooks, mirrors, chairs, linen and cupboards to complete the rooms. Thank you Lord.

Recently a chance meeting of a Besom recipient with Maggie, a stalwart TG!, led to a discussion about faith and church …. Ida started attending the Coign and other churches in Woking – she had a revelation on New Years Day at 5am when she “met” the Lord as a bird flew out of a bush: she felt the Lords presence ….. she banged on a nearby door and announced to the somewhat worried occupants “do not be afraid for I have the Lord with me”!! Can you believe it?? She proclaimed her faith and her story last week at Christchurch.

What a story about the Lord and faith and Besom.

Some amazing givers of wonderful things dropped off a Bootiful matching set of posh bed linen, bedcover, cushions, curtains – WOW! It was not the funky sort of thing that most young Besom recipients would feel blessed by BUT Bill and Tracey a gritty couple of recovering alcoholics were just over the moon when I rang and mentioned it to them: dropped them off along with a new bedhead for the bed given before Christmas! They think that God is the best news since sliced bread!!

A young couple with 4 children that Besom has helped enormously in the past with furniture and decorating moved from a flat to a house with garden – lovely for the children but obviously needs work. Lots of encouragement and practical help were initially given along with tools and guidance but sadly within a few months the garden was a jungle again. We were quite challenged about helping again but remembered that we are led not to give up and to help again if needed SO a wonderful group have “jungle cleared” again – please pray that Mum and Dad will keep on top of the garden and maybe start to plant and grow and engage the children in growing!

Two sisters whose parents have sadly died contacted us to give whatever we would like from the parental home, to be collected after the sale of the house. Long story but now house buyer no.2 is about to complete they contacted us to say that we can collect BUT unfortunately they have had to sell the white goods (cooker/fridge-freezer and washing machine) with the house. A later phone call to make specific arrangements for collection also offered to give us what they got for the white goods – as they felt bad about promising them and then reneging!! How amazing is that?!!

The Wedding of the Year

A Besom couple had been together for 10 years, and have three lovely children. But 9 months ago they decided to get married! This was their dream.

But the bride to be became overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. She panicked about the expense, and logistics. She had planned and budgeted, but it was so much more expensive than she had envisaged……

Now a group from Christchurch had quite a relationship with this family. They had returned to do decorating project after project. They had transformed most of the house with paint, and one member still meets up with mum very frequently for coffee and chats. They are firm friends.

This put them in a good place to help! And it was wonderful. We at Besom were amazed by the variety of people who made the family’s wedding day come together. People helped with food, photography, people gave lifts to Iceland for supplies, and delivered goodies to the venue. One person did her hair, making her look gorgeous! Folk cleared and supported, some cleaned the house back home. One person provided a home nearby with a sofa for our chief helper to collapse on when she needed a break!  “And it all went so smoothly. Everyone was so relaxed. It was so much fun. The service was really emotional”, I heard.

This group helped make a dream come true.  How cool is that!!!?

4 in 1 Day!

We have just had so much fun! Severn of us from our pastorate spent a happy saturday decorating the hall, stairs,landing AND sitting room of a really appreciative single mum and her gorgeous little boy.  There were so many of us we could get lots done.

Typical snatches of conversations: “do you think I can squeeze past this ladder? Well if you do this bit, I’ll do this and we’ll meet in the middle!”

High points:

– really good conversations between little groups of people as they brushed and rollered along walls.

– that amazing feeling of relief when the furniture is put back and you realise that you have transformed the place.

– building friendship with the mum – I always love that quiet conversation at the end when everyone has gone and they say how the day was for them.

– soaking in a hot bath at the end of the day!

Low points: none!!!

And now? Besom hope to keep up contact as they help her with other things and have coffees!

This was the best fun and really good team building time, quite apart from hopefully really blessing the recipient!

Such a difference

A social worker asked us if we could clean someone’s house.  She was very depressed and she and her children had not been able to keep on top of things.  A team went in over the HOPE week-end and ‘blitzed’ it.   Mum has not been downstairs for many months, but one of the cleaning team had an opportunity to talk to her.

Her son has since told us that she now regularly comes downstairs and is doing stuff herself.

Thank-you God for the difference that this has made.

 

The ‘girly’ bed

Prayed for a ‘girly’ bed for a little girl. It arrived from an American family who were re-locating back to the US and wanted to give us almost all their furniture.  The girly bed was purple and home-made and lovely  – but very heavy !!! Anyway we delivered it to her and she was delighted.  We went back the following week and put up a mirror on her bedroom wall. There didn’t seem to be any mirrors in the house so we need to go and take one back for her mum too.  I thought we had too many helpers that afternoon – there were four of us – but God had planned it, one for each child – very high maintenance children, but lovely! – and one for the parents.  It was a great afternoon.

 

 

This week may 19-23

Monday – Julia went to St Mary’s church, Send who have a charity coffee morning once a month and chose Besom this time.  Had great conversations with lots of folk.   An elderly lady said she had some cotton sheets she didnt want to iron and would we like them – oh, from The White Company! Yes please.  Also two of the trendiest chairs from China that I’ve seen! Fantastic! One enthusiast would like to come out on the van with us.

Tues: Will, Rob and Dave, giving time.  Picked up loads of wonderful toys, including a wendy house for two little girls.

No more time givers this week, so we couldn’t visit recipients.  Julia joined in a day time bible study group to thank them for giving a box of food every week. They were studying Acts 2 – great conversations! Their new box is waiting to go out to a single mum + 2 kids in dire need.

Thurs:  had coffee with two core team members in the sun at the warehouse and discussed plans and ideas.

And of course we have prayed lots and lots this week.  Our main one is at Christ Church Tues. 9.00-10.00 all welcome – its great!!

Some “thank-you”s

By text from a lady with 2 children referred to us by the Women’s refuge…

I just wanted to thank-you so much for the washing machine, it works perfectly.  Thanks again. I really appreciate all your help.

From another mum and son who have recently moved out of the refuge. They moved into an empty house that just had carpet. We were able to help with a sofa, TV, dining table and chairs, bed, wardrobe and curtains and some toys.

Thank-you for all your help. I’m very grateful. God Bless you. I will never forget what you did for me and my son and your lovely people.