The Besom in Esher – Charitable Incorporated Organisation – 1182123

Last autumn we enabled a local church, King’s Church Walton (KCW), who wanted to serve those in need in their community by providing them with a garden clearance project for a single parent family.

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Over the past 10 months it has been good to see that so many have realised we can alleviate needs around us with small acts of kindness.  For some this has been through the Besom Network. 

What do you do with compassion when God stirs up a desire to do something more?  

….Pray before you act

KCW have supported the work of Besom practically as well as prayerfully for some time gradually becoming more familiar with our way of doing things.  They are keen to be a benefit to the communities they are a part of and have prayed particularly about their response.  Besom was ready to support them in the next stage of their journey. 

….Listen for His response and test your thinking

Coming face to face with need, a group from KCW approached us after the project completed.  Arising from conversations with the Mum and learning about the struggles she faced in caring for her family, the idea grew of providing fresh fruit and vegetables to supplement the dried/tinned goods she gratefully received from the local Foodbank.  This would provide variety in their diet and make dinners more enticing for the children.  Perhaps there were other families who could also benefit?  They explored with Besom whether this could be another project, so we asked our social workers whether their clients would welcome this and agreed how we would maintain confidentiality.  Meanwhile, KCW approached Foodbank with their suggestions.

….Go on a journey of faith 

After much prayer, KCW believed God was leading them to start a small 5 week pilot scheme to bring Fresh Food Bags to those struggling with debt.  Besom ran an induction meeting (over Zoom) to brief the group participants. This included safeguarding, Covid-safety, logistics and guidance on how to speak appropriately with recipients.

Liaising with a local greengrocer, ourselves and the Walton and Hersham Foodbank, they funded and packed attractive bags of produce each Monday morning, prayed for the bags and our recipients. Then headed out to make contactless doorstep deliveries in pairs, listening to how they were keeping and offering encouragement.  Further bags were dropped at the foodbank for their clients

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As a final flourish, in the last week, they bought and gave beautiful Christmas Hampers!  Now they are considering how to develop the scheme in 2021.

Some reflections from the KCW team:-

“I think that the pilot is a great start to the conversation about how King’s can form connections and friendships with the neighbours in our community. I am also grateful for the guidance and direction of Besom, so that we learn how to work with vulnerable people”

 “I think it’s been a great scheme: brought joy & a feeling of support to the lives of those who are struggling financially & emotionally.”

 “Praying together for the bags and recipients has been a highlight.”

and a lovely response from one of the Food Bag recipients (for whom we also urgently purchased a replacement cooker in time for Christmas):-

”Hi, OMG, Cooker delivered its fantastic, thank you The Besom in Esher for making all these good things happen and your hard work organising everything… I realise the world has been turned on its head and life is on hold for some time.  Thanks again truly everything you have done was the lift I needed to push on with my life… never too old.  Christmas Greetings.  Jackie”  (*name changed to protect identity)

Final Thoughts

We’re really excited about the relationship with King’s Church – facilitating individual and group giving when we are approached is what we are all about!  We can see God at work within a fellowship who have committed to serve their community and asked Him for inspiration and creative ideas.  We loved supporting them in understanding what He is calling them to do for his Kingdom.  

Please contact us if you or your Church have an idea of what God may be inviting you to do as we would love to pray and enable you to accomplish it.

‘How could inviting the Foreign Secretary, First Secretary of State and local Constituency MP for Esher and Walton, Rt Hon Dominic Raab be such a relaxed, fun and joyful way to go out on a van run earlier this morning?’

Due to social distancing protocols we went

out with Mr Raab in a mini vehicular convoy instead of sitting together in the front cab of the Besom van. It is usually this time spent in the cab chatting and reflecting on their experiences that our time-givers value the most.

In the preceding ten days, the logistical exercise in planning the van run was no mean feat. Besom doesn’t publicise precisely what their recipients need as we rely on God prompting people to give at the right time to meet those needs. Neither do we actively fundraise for money with which we buy items. Nor can we control the timing of new incoming referrals or their geographical location. Would there be donations offered and needs matched in time for us to build a van run schedule on the date offered and committed to by Dominic Raab’s Parliamentary Office?

Unbridled Joy

So the build up to Friday morning included lots of prayer because of uncertainties, , hard work and the pressure of responsibility in getting the safety and logistics right for a high profile guest. As a team we decided to focus on the giver (the key principle of The Besom vision): we put Mr Raab (the politician) out of our minds and focussed on him as an individual who wanted to give us his precious time, and also provide a worthwhile opportunity for him to spend time learning about our ministry. Without answered prayers, the activities of Besom simply would not happen. Because the Besom vision and our faith call us to rely on God’s provision, we choose to trust that all will come together at the right time.. And this morning it did:our team’s prayers were answered! A formerly homeless gentleman suffering with cancer and relationship breakdown had been rehoused by Elmbridge Council and needed furniture. Of particular urgency was a bed and kitchen starter pack because all he had was an airbed and a TV in the flat. We don’t have storage facilities, so the precise matching of his needs with the timing and nature of the donations is where the donors, and the Besom team members , see God evidencing His loving kindness for the vulnerable and needy. It is truly a joy to see this happen!

This Friday morning, we discovered afresh that there is a lightness and a liberation in leaving God to attend to the details of the plan and to release His resources through any means He chooses! As a team we were free to love, care and bring hope to this vulnerable gentleman setting up his new home in West Molesey.

Despite the torrential rain, Mr Raab really got stuck in! Joy is infectious and laughter and smiles were shared between everyone. Even though we got soaked shifting the heavy mattress, chest

of drawers, starter pack and more up two flights of stairs to the waiting recipient, he was blessed with furniture and his gratitude in receiving sorely-needed items also blessed us as we saw that our service made a tangible difference to him. Not only that, but the whole morning left a mark on us too for the Besom team had been used by God to bless others, “….for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9: v7)!

We may be in lockdown, but the Besom has not changed.  We can still be a bridge between those who want to give and those who are in great need, it’s just the landscape that is changing rapidly beyond recognition.  Last week we have done 2 runs rather than just our Thursday run.  We have actually been busier than usual. 

Last week, the probation service referred a man (already self-isolating) who was moving into a unfurnished flat in Thames Ditton with just a camp bed and a little crockery.  Facing lockdown with financial hardship, severe health problems placing him in the extreme at risk category, we decided this was ‘essential travel to care for the vulnerable’.  We had a lot of items he needed, particularly a bed and sofa, and would buy the items he didn’t have such as a microwave and bedlinens.

This time, a visit to a young man who’d moved into a new neighbourhood last week, again with financial hardship, and in mental health recovery.  With the lockdown, he was now away from his family support network, sleeping on a sofa, with no white goods, tv or means to cook.  We were able to give him a microwave, kitchen starter pack, TV and joy of joys a dvd player.  He was so delighted with the dvd player as it meant he would be able to use the TV (even without a tv licence or amazon fire-stick)!  We were able to pray a blessing over his new home and for his new start at the doorstep.

Besom core team and trustees are praying that we can respond locally as God directs because new opportunities are opening up for us to work alongside Foodbank, Elmbridge Borough Council and Central Surrey Community Action in a coordinated response to the escalating needs of the vulnerable, poor, elderly, and the at risk / extreme risk categories of those with underlying health needs. 

At the national Besom level, we have been considering that the pandemic is changing the landscape, bringing tragic outcomes to many individuals and families who were already struggling on the fringes of our community.    Social care will not stop in a lockdown and so whilst we can assist social worker referrals appropriately when safe and practical to do so in the next 12 weeks, (with those who come to us to offering their time etc) the Besom is not just in a 12-week sprint but a marathon that we start preparing for.  Many Besoms have had to close with elderly core-team members at risk themselves, or with the shutting of their Besom premises, simply not set up to operate teams and logistics in a ‘virtual’ online setting.  They are settling themselves to rest, to pray and seek the Lord and await the time when they can open again.  Besom in Esher on the other hand has always been ‘virtual’ so we have not had to adapt the way we operate to cope with working from our homes.

What can I do?

• Please remember us (Annie, Chris, Gareth, Richard (core team) Tony, Sammy and Daphne (van team time-givers) in your prayers – we want to keep in step with the Lord and be wise to opportunities but true to our vision and values.  For protection for our health and those we help.

• If you are not in self-isolation or quarantine, and do not meet the criteria of being at risk / or extreme risk, maybe you can be a part of a ‘faith response’ and give your time, money or skills through us?  As church members, many of you already could be DBS checked or have an Enhanced DBS check; this would be brilliant in terms of re-deploying Besom activity alongside the council .  The government/NHS is looking for volunteers – you can check out their Good Sam app of course, but we are already called to be Good Samaritans and with our church buildings closed, maybe Jesus is calling his bride to come out onto the streets! 

• Stay in touch via our webpage or Facebook, to see what role Besom will be asked to undertake alongside EBC, and consider whether you can be part of our ‘faith response’ as Good Samaritans.

This Christmas we will again deliver hampers to families and individuals in the Elmbridge area who have received the Besom service over the past year.  You can make a difference and help to bring God’s love into their homes.

To find out how your church group can make a Christmas hamper to give through The Besom please get in touch with us by email at hampers@besominesher.com.

Please respond by Friday 8th November if possible. Once we hear from you we will forward all the instructions on how to make and fill your hamper.  We will also invite you to join in and deliver the hampers in the early part of December as part of a small experienced team. 

1 Cor 13:7 (The Message)    “Love… trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end”

Love…. trusts God always, always looks for the best

This year we have gone through a lot of exciting transitions. Yet, as always, the excitement about the new things that are coming is tinged with sadness at what is left behind.

To be sure that we were following where the Lord is leading has required us to keep placing our trust in the Lord and have faith that He is working in our waiting. Our longing to have our own premises has remained unchanged over these past 8 years because while daily we look for the best that Besom can be, we operate under constraints which inhibit so much that we would love to do. The team, van, equipment and goods are scattered across the Borough so we would like to bring everything under one roof in a home where we can gather, pray and build relationships with all those called to fulfil our vision ‘to enable Christians to give’.

Love… never looks back!

It became clear that registering as a charity was the next step in order to be ready to lease premises, so we began the process in January. To enable this, two of our founding core team members, Simon and Sherry, came off the core team in order to become trustees and in the Spring we became a fully-fledged charity. Then in July, Sue, another founding core team member, felt the Lord ask her to lay down Besom in order to step into new ministries with the lonely and dispossessed. Sue has overseen group projects and the Christmas hamper projects for 8 years and will be greatly missed. With her past experience as a social worker and a massively compassionate heart, she brought invaluable insight, wisdom and caring love to our team and all whom she worked with. She still loves Besom and will remain involved in other ways.

With three core team members stepping down, only Annie and Gareth were left. But recently the Lord has graciously brought us two additions: ones who have been time-giving on the van team and in projects for a while! Chris from EGBC and Richard from HTC are both stepping into new things by joining the Besom core team.

Please pray for them as they discern where their hearts lie in the many-varied tasks that members choose to undertake to operate the Besom.

Love…. always keeps going to the end!

At last, we can see that God is stirring up key individuals in churches in the Walton area to get involved for the first time with the Besom and it excites us to see how these fledgling relationships will prosper under the guidance of his Holy Spirit.  We have been praying for links into Walton since our inception in 2012, so this development has been a long time in coming!  Sometimes waiting for it has been very disheartening, but we have persevered in prayer because many of our recipients live in this area of the borough and we have longed for the churches in closest proximity to them to be able to practically love their neighbours –  literally those living only metres from their doorsteps.  It is the encouragement in seeing that God has been working in our waiting, that gives us hope to keep praying and waiting for our premises, our home.  Please keep praying along with us for that provision.

Two givers… tick! ….
Two recipients in need of double beds….tick! ….
Two double beds delivered and assembled…. tick!

One recipient had a flooded flat and needed a replacement bed and the other woman was due to give birth and only had an airbed to return to from hospital.  

The Lord’s timing was immaculate in the provision of people giving beds and us becoming aware of the urgent needs.

“U R A DIAMOND” and “YOU ARE AN ANGEL” are just two responses we received last week. One from a Dad of six kids for whom we were able to buy replacement washing machine and one from a social worker requesting three single beds for a single parent family. We have the joy of receiving the thanks by texts and emails, but we want you ALL to know that the timing of giving your goods and money to us is not a coincidence but a response to prayer for God to meet these families’ needs. So this week join us in praying for many items of bedroom furniture.

Before and After! Some Thursdays we simply have to clear out the van and stock-take at the barn! At least yesterday we managed to find the missing bed fixings (buried in a box of bedding) so we can re-deliver the bed next week…

Sue’s spare bedrooms are fillling up with stunning luxury hampers. We want to thank all of you who contributed, made or dropped off hampers. We are on target to share love and seasonal goodwill with all of our recipients through your generosity! If you would like to be involved with the joy of delivering some of them, there are still morning time-slots available on Saturday 8th or Tuesday 18th December. Contact us on hampers.besominesher@gmail.com

Not many of our projects come together so swiftly and smoothly but tomorrow’s has. A garden, so overgrown in Molesey that the gentleman could not get outside for 3 years, will be cleared tomorrow by a Connect Group from St Mary’s East Molesey. Pray for the team as they bring in the light to this young man – literally!!