Letter from the Director
2023 has been a year of growth, of reflection, and of digging deep.
It has been a year where we welcomed so many new children and families into the family of ACTS. We’ve celebrated and seen God’s hand in these new stories that are unfolding. Yet in that newness and fullness we also experience growing pains and questions like: where will the additional food, funds, volunteers, and support needed come from?
It is difficult (and also biblical) to be standing in the place God’s called you and to be there so incredibly reliant on HIM to make it work, to make a way, and to not abandon you in it.
That's where we have found ourselves in 2023. It’s been a year of SUFFICIENCY. A year of learning that just enough, just what we need, and enough only for today, while uncomfortable, is also an invitation to hold onto hope and to let go of doubt.
In a year with no big miracles we’ve seen dozens of small ones. And it’s been pretty remarkable!
I am grateful for the group of homeschool moms and children who have packed snack bags for us to send home with our kids all Fall long. They are helping provide food, they are connecting to the unique needs of others in their community, and they are reminding us that we don’t have to do this work alone.
I am humbled by a friend of the ministry who has been helping provide a meal-a-week for years, who loves to share the gift of a traditional family meal with this ministry, and who while going through a challenging health season herself, never stopped once or paused for a week, placing the needs of ACTS above her own. She encourages us that God blesses what we do in His name and for His kingdom.
I am moved to tears by the parents and grandparents of ACTS children who are being ambassadors and advocates, who are giving sacrificially of their finances and time to champion this work, who are the first and loudest voices sharing stories about what we are doing on social media and in person. They remind us that ACTS is who we are and what we create when we all work together and believe everyone’s gifts have a place and purpose.
This year has been beautiful. It has involved a lot of turning to our community, looking deep within, and relying on the Lord. And the biggest thing I have learned in all that is that the mission and call of ACTS is lasting. No matter what a season brings, we will have what we need (even if only within inches or dollars) to not just survive, but to really experience the fullness of what we have been called to and promised.
My invitation to you now, is to be a part of the provision and prayers we need to make 2024 a season of plenty for ACTS Holland. We have been faithful and humble in a season of sufficiency, and we believe there are so many new blessings, possibilities, and life-changing stories just ahead.
-Sincerely in Him,
Jaime Blom, Executive Director