Pray in May

Desiree, 13,Malawi . . Image Mary's Meals

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer," the apostle Paul tells us, but what is hope and where does it begin?

These are important questions and ones on which we reflect a great deal at Mary's Meals. Hope can feel hard to define. Its focus on the future means that it may not receive the same attention as the other great theological virtues: faith and love.

But hope is not the poor relation of faith and love. Hope changes lives here and now because it is attached to a person. A person we can always rely upon. Our hope is in Jesus Christ himself who transformed, and continues to transform, lives.

That is why we place hope at the centre of our work at Mary's Meals as we feed children in their schools in some of the poorest countries around the world, meeting their immediate need for food while also helping them access the education that can be their ladder out of poverty.

Our meals are bringing hope to children in places like Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where families are experiencing the devastating impacts of drought and extreme weather. Hope emerges when parents know that Mary's Meals will provide a meal a day for their children at school, allowing them to stretch the food they have at home a little further.

Hope leads to action. Our school feeding programme encourages children into the classroom and give them energy to learn. This means that, even in the most difficult of times, children can make the most of their education and break free from the generational cycle of poverty.

That is the experience of 13-year-old Desire from Malawi. He says: "When there was no food at school, I would shiver and shake so much I couldn't hold my pen, and it was difficult to concentrate. Now, the porridge helps me concentrate and I have energy to help my mother and do chores around the house."

Our meals bring hope to the local communities who own and run these school feeding programmes. Mary's Meals provides training, monitoring, support and the necessary ingredients to ensure children are fed nutritious school meals, but ultimately, the school feeding is run by teachers, cooks, parents and volunteers in the local community. The whole community is empowered, and hope takes tangible form.

During the month of May, please join us in prayer for the children we serve. We know that we could not feed more than 2.6 million children every school day in 16 countries around the world without the prayers and little acts of love of all those who believe in our mission, so please join us in thanking God for his abundant blessings.

To download our prayer resources, please visit: www.marysmeals.org.uk/prayinmay

Pray with us that our work will continue to flourish, that new seeds of possibility will be planted, that more people will discover their place in this mission, that our volunteers across the world will be filled with hope and strength, and that children throughout this world will see their lives transformed through the promise of a daily meal in their place of education. "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12)

This year, to help you walk in prayer with the children and communities we support, we are also introducing the opportunity to sign up to receive fortnightly reflection emails throughout May which will share inspiring stories about our work, a reflection from a team member and suggested prayer points and themes.

To sign up to receive these three prayer emails in May, please complete the short form on our website.

Roy Peachey,

Supporter Engagement Officer - London and South East (South), Mary's Meals