Two fish, five loaves and a whole lot of partners

This week, Life Changer distributed over 200 blankets and 1,000 meals to foreign nationals who have been displaced and are facing deportation.

I wanted to express my deep gratitude for this opportunity. And emphasise the fact that this can't be done without good partnerships in place.

You see, Life Changer doesn’t have reserves or savings tucked away for emergencies. We are a donations-based ministry that works from a very minimal budget, even while managing our funds carefully. We aren’t a large organisation with dedicated funding for crises like this, nor do we have a bigger backer we can call on. When something urgent arises outside our normal operations, it falls on us — and on the generosity of our partners and the Lord’s provision.

This week truly felt like the feeding of the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves.

We are always short on blankets, yet somehow this year we had more than enough. Miracle number one.

Then a partner called and offered a financial contribution towards meals. “We can’t do much, but could you help deliver the food if we pay for it?” What a beautiful problem to have. When I asked how many meals, the answer was 1,000. We don’t have an industrial kitchen, but we have friends who do — they own a grocery store. Two phone calls later, we had 1,000 cooked pies ready for distribution the next day, at a generous discount.

A partner school also offered about 500 oranges they couldn’t use during the holidays, and another partner supplied bottled water.

What we encountered on the ground was heartbreaking: gratitude mixed with desperation and deep uncertainty. Buses lined up to transport people away while more vehicles kept arriving with additional foreign nationals. Many hadn’t had water for over 24 hours. Small children were everywhere. People were sleeping on curbs, concrete slabs, and in derelict buildings.

I kept thinking about the journey that brought them here — the promise of work and a better life, met instead with hostility. The situation is so complex and painful. It goes against everything we believe as Christians, as an organisation, and simply as human beings.

Our work yesterday shook me more deeply than our usual outreach with our unhoused friends. As I lay in my warm bed that night, safe in a country where I fear very little, I felt the weight of their desperation — and sensed the Lord’s heart breaking alongside them. Man’s cruelty to man knows no limits, but neither does kindness when people come together.

Yesterday we weren’t the only organisation helping, and more will join in the days ahead. This is beautiful and exactly as it should be.

Because, as I said at the beginning, we cannot do this alone. Partnership is everything. No single organisation can solve a crisis of this scale or make lasting impact in isolation. We need each other — and we need the continued support of those who believe in this work. Thank you for every person who has been to meet with, deliver resources and pray with these unhoused people. Thank you to our partners for trusting us and enabling us to deliver and be there too. And thank you to the team at Life Changer - extraordinary staff and volunteers - who see a moment like this as an opportunity to walk their faith and be the hands and feet of Jesus. If you would like to contribute to these efforts, please donate using the reference "Refugees" and we will add it to the deliveries in the coming days. Our banking details can be found here.