Children, families, and staff from partner communities around the world want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 2020's many challenges were faced with resilience and hope, thanks to supporters like you - thank you.
FH Canada's president, Shawn Plummer, wishes you a Merry Christmas, too. Read his message to you below:
“Courage resides in all of us. And one day it will be summoned” - Jean Biden
I heard those words for the first time a few days ago. They really sunk in while I took a moment to think about the end of 2020 and the start of this next year.
This year has summoned courage from all of us. When was the last time something has happened that’s impacted everyone around the world? Few can remember. And we’ve needed courage in the midst of our fears during this time. Fears for health, well-being, and our freedom. Fears that things will never be the same again.
And yet, you’ve stepped up to the plate. Thank you! As an organization, Food for the Hungry Canada has experienced an outpouring of generosity—a courageous, sacrificial generosity, in fact.
One staff member who fielded phone calls over the past weeks spoke of this sacrificial giving—more this year than ever before. Canadian families who had saved up for travel or big family events over Christmas (regretfully altered due to the pandemic) opted to share their finances with families overseas, families whose “hard” they deemed “harder” than theirs.
Your courage and sacrificial giving allows families in partner communities to press forward during this time where courage is needed more than ever.
I’m also reminded of the courage of families in partner communities, like Sylvester’s family in Rwanda. They’ve worked hard to tend livestock and gardens, keeping food on the table as income slowed and prices rose in their small community. Or of Nin, from Cambodia, who volunteered with FH to learn and share COVID-19 preventative measures with his community to keep them safe. They continue to press forward despite the infinite question marks the coming year holds.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this week, I hope we continue to follow His example to live lives of courage. We have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but we walk with a God who does.
Let’s walk into next year with comfort that we don’t walk alone, but together we’ll face every challenge of 2021. Let’s walk into next year with compassion toward those who need our support to end the poverty holding them back. Let’s walk together with courage!
Shawn Plummer
President & CEO
