Sarah is all smiles now!
At an Agape Europe training for Team Partner Development (TPD), Sarah Patel from GAiN UK asked God: “How can I execute the vision you put on my heart and be fully funded when I don’t even have a team?” Looking tearfully over her Plan of Action, she needed God to answer that question, since she had no clue.
But God knew how. Slowly the team grew in number and in their vision to be used by God to help those in need. The team invited their friends to host collection points so that people in their area could get involved by donating items. Now there are over 20 collection points from Northern Ireland to the south of England.
“By 2022, our staff team has grown to six staff (full-time and part-time) and a contact has provided a temporary warehouse in Birmingham for free,” Sarah joyfully shared.
The team now uses social media and other communication tools to inform people about their vision to reveal hope and restore life. Team member Heidi Helbig shared about more recent efforts. “When the war in Ukraine started, we challenged our partners to give and £100,000 was raised to help those fleeing the war. This is an amazing response from over 300 current and new British partners!”
As more people responded to Sarah and her team’s invitation to join in giving to GAiN ministry, she was reminded of the verse in Psalm 25:
When we put our trust in God and wait on Him, we will not be put to shame.
Between 2021 and 2022, GAiN UK was able to send 11 shipments of relief goods using the two containers at a truck stop, helping more than 30,000 people. But there is a limit to how much they can collect at the temporary warehouse. Their dream for 2023 and beyond is to rent a warehouse that could become the permanent GAiN Involvement Centre. This could bring tangible relief to around 300,000 people — 10 times more than what has taken place in the last few years.
Encouraged by what God did with small, faithful TPD steps, they trust He will also fulfil the dream of having a warehouse in 2023 — because it is His ministry!
