Beneficiary of the Project

Cecil Chipendo (former client)

Sometimes I feel as though this project was meant just for me…I have learnt to be practical with God’s word.  Please read on.

When Ed Walker came to assess me while I was still in custody, we sat and exchanged visions the whole morning.  Prior to this I had come to a point in my life where all avenues to positively move forward had, in my eyes, been exhausted and I had no more options left but God.  It is a wierd and wonderful place to find yourself in, but when God is ready to move, nothing can stop His way.  It was more than just a coincidence that our paths crossed even if Ed still wondered if this vision was from God. To me this was a specific answer to a specific prayer.  For the first time in my life I have seen God come through for me.  I don’t know whether I had no options left or this was faith in action.

1 Kings 17:6… And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.  This rings so true to me and I sit back and watch God manifest in my life.

The scripture in Mathew 25:36… 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me…epitomises what HOPE INTO ACTION is all about.  The net work of prayer partners and the specific church body of Bretton Baptist that prayed into my eventual release and ultimately into the house, there is no ending to the amazing grace I have seen in action. I am continuously being equipped and empowered to be deployed to do the same unto others.  The changes in my life have been radical and this is just the beginning.  My friends have dubbed me modern day Joseph and I walk with my head up high.  My offending past is where I want it to be.  In the past.  As I continue to develop Character and Honour and work to find Answers Necessary for Growth and Excellence, I can safely say that Hope Into Action will continue to influence and define my road to rehabilitation.  For a more personal testimony please feel free to contact via Hope into Action.

Prison Chaplain

“I have been a prison chaplain for 5 years and am well aware that it is hard for prisoners who have made great progress emotionally and spiritually to find, on release, that they have nowhere to go and no one to meet them at the gate. Living on the streets makes them far more vulnerable to returning to their former ways. This project provides people not only with a home but also a community and for those of faith, a church community, that they can settle into.”

Churches

Martin Bowering (home group leader)

”I have found this project a really practical way of helping the disadvantaged of our society. It provides a stepping stone and a hand up for those who wish to be integrated back into normal life and gives them the opportunity to make lasting friendships and become a respected member of the community again. The whole process is backed up with prayer involving many others within the church fellowship. As this project has begun we have seen several specific answers to prayer and I have been most encouraged by how well it is developing. Really looking forward to the future of this initiative.”

Prayer

“I have sponsored a child in the Philippines for many years, but never know how I can pray into the lives of people in a vulnerable situation in this country. This scheme enables me to pray into the lives of people that need it, in a meaningful way. It is so much easier than a non-specific prayer ‘for the homeless’.  It helps gives my prayers a focus and some bounce.”

Pastor David Whitlock (Bretton Baptist Church)

“My church has taken on this project and I have loved seeing some of our congregation be enabled and empowered to commit to some people in vulnerable situations. I believe many in my congregation have a heart for this type of work and this project enables them to act on that heart. Really grateful and I would recommend it to any church.”

Investor

Hope-into-Action want to provide a practical method for following the example of the early Christians who ‘shared their possessions with the needy’ (Acts 4). Here is what our first investor said about his reasons for purchasing a house:

“I had some inheritance money in a savings account that was earning me very little interest (in fact, in real terms, it was losing me money). I had been praying for a while about how I could use it. Then this opportunity came along and I used my money as a deposit in a house: I have made a sound investment that will help my family in the medium-term, but until that the time I need the money again I can use it to support some people in real need. It has caused me enormous joy to realise I can make a sound investment whilst sharing my money with the needy in the same breath.”

Some Case studies

Bob

Bob spent his entire childhood in care. He is illiterate and his adult life has included crime and imprisonment. After the murder of his partner Bob turned to heroin and spent last winter on the streets. Hope into Action has now successfully housed Bob, he is free from addiction and he is working together with us and the local church which he has joined.

John

John was in a state of despair after 8 years of hostel life. Methodone kept him off heroin but his cannabis habit could get him down. Through Hope into Action John has now given up cannabis and reduced his methodone. He has found employment through a church member in a local bike shop and is a fully trained street pastor: ‘Helping others helps me’ he says.

Jane

Jane is an ex heroin addict and ex-offender. She came to us at 7 months pregnant with no where to stay and gave birth while her partner was in prison. Jane’s local church is able to support her and her child both practically and emotionally.

Barry

Barry was met inside HMP Peterborough. He had no where to live on release. We met him at the gate gave him a home with another Christian in the city. He stayed in that house for 2 months. During that time he wondered into his local church cafe and there was met and ministered to by some people from the local church. Barry kept coming back to church. After a while he was put back in prison for collecting money for a charity and then keeping the money collected. We have contacted the pastor of the church and are trying to arrange a visit for the pastor into the prison to meet with Barry.