It has been a quarter of many changes for the Besom in Dorking and much to praise the Lord about.

Top of the list is we have replaced our old Luton van that had gallantly served the Besom in Dorking for more 10 years and itself was over 30 years old! Its age was beginning to show and it was highly unlikely that the next MOT due April would have been passed without much expense.

That we were able to do this was down two reasons:

1)      We had a specific legacy which assisted us in providing most of the funding required for the replacement van.

2)      Besom Guildford introduced us to a van rental company owned by a Christian family who are sympathetic to the Besom cause. We had to be patient for a few months as the MOT date for the old van approached but eventually they were replacing their Luton van fleet and a very suitable replacement was purchased.

Review of Besom work

Prayer

We have a core team that meets and prays for the week ahead every Monday morning about the running of the charity, the recipients we meet and the needs they have. We pray and the Lord provides again and again sometimes extremely quickly and specifically!

Volunteers

We have one full working day a week with the van which are sometimes quite long and tiring and so all the work could not be done without a very strong team of dedicated and willing and motivated volunteers both in the unit and on the van. It goes without saying that the volunteers also put in many additional hours, praying, communicating, assessing donations, assessing recipients and of course doing the admin.

Donations

We have been greatly blessed by so many who remember us and kindly donate money and goods in the last quarter. In fact we have received physical donations of furniture, white goods and other household items from more than forty individual families. Sometimes this is as a result of upgrading or redecorating existing houses, decluttering, downsizing and sometimes as a result of the death of a loved one.

Recipients

We have been able to assist 24 different households in the first quarter due to the generosity above. The recipients are all referred to us from many organisations and other charities across the district. These cover the various council social service teams, hospitals and medical profession, housing associations, homeless shelters, and other charities. We insist that recipients are referred to us and do not come to us directly. The type of people we help cover a very broad range and are almost all are as a result of breakdowns we all hear so much about in society but perhaps do not see face to face unless we choose to. Those breakdowns can be in relationships, medical circumstance, mental health, those seeking refuge or simply age taking its toll.

I cannot finish this report without saying a big thank you to Jamie Wood for a smooth handover at Christmas after 5 years at the helm and for his continuing support and prayer.

Finally we look forward to the next quarter and what God brings our way and ask for your continued prayer and support in the work of the Besom in Dorking.

Paul Crozier

Trustee

On behalf of the Besom in Dorking

dorkingbesom@live.co.uk

07765 598 854

YOU’RE INVITED!

We’re going to the Big Church Day Out and we’d love you to come with us!

Join us at Wiston House in West Sussex on 25th & 26th May

with thousands of Christians from all over the country to worship and ‘celebrate all that is good’.

HOW DO I BOOK?

Follow the unique group plus link below. You will then be taken to your Group homepage where you can order your tickets. You will then need to create an account or login to your existing account. 

GROUP DISCOUNT

The cheapest way to go to the Big Church Day Out is in our group. Ordering your tickets this way guarantees the maximum discount possible and is not dependent on when you buy your tickets. 

This is your unique group plus link: http://bcdo.group/2019/the-hub 

Please click this link to join our group and purchase your tickets to the Big Church Day Out.

DISCOUNTED TICKET PRICES

An opportunity to celebrate how God is building His kingdom in the most dangerous countries to be a Christian; on Saturday 16th November in Birmingham. Details are here.  Promotional  video is here. There is a sign-up sheet on the auditorium table to register your interest.