“Shortly before Christmas an ordinary day led to an extraordinary opportunity. Cath Swanson had called by to drop something off. She was in her car and we were talking through the window. Unnoticed by us a man walked along the road beside the house carrying a large sack on his back. After a minute or two that man fell face down, collapsing on the side of the road. I went inside to get water and something to cover him over. When I returned Cath had the man sitting by the side of the road in the shade of a tree. The man was an older teenage lad named Michael. Each day Michael carries the sack and walks along the side of roads searching for treasure – plastic bottles, metal objects, and other people’s rubbish – looking for things to sell or trade to make enough money to feed his family. Michael shared that many of his friends were smoking marijuana saying to him to forget about God as God had forgotten about him. He said he refused to believe them. Now we were helping him, showing him something of God’s tangible love. He ate some bread and jam and we gave him eggs and dry beans to take for his family. It seemed so little to give, when we have so much and his need was so great. We prayed with him and Cath drove him home…The whole experience made me think a lot; about having compassion for the poor and needy – Jesus talked in about ‘to those whom much is given, much is required’; about something Cath has said to me – ‘what a privilege we have living here to serve the poor in a tangible way,’ and about how Jesus came to shine into the darkness.” Give thanks for this opportunity to show the love of Jesus in a practical way and pray for Michael’s faith, that it would be strong and unwavering as he cares for his family.