Angels of Mercy Help Those in Need in Central Illinois

Angels of Mercy was founded out of a vision from God: To help families who might just not want to ask for help or families that are maybe too proud to admit they need it. They noticed how many charities would look at a person's income to decide what families to help people in need. How Angels of Mercy came to play was that the founding member's family was going through those exact struggles...they were a little too middle class to receive government help, and they were just a little to proud to ask for help from friends, family, or their church.

What happened to them was nothing short of a miracle, here and there the blessings started flooding in. Whether it was an anonymous card with cash in it, to someone cooking them dinner. They felt totally blessed that people would do such kind things for them.

This is how Angels of Mercy was born. The founder wanted nothing more than to give other people those same blessings when you least expect it. She gathered together a team of people and before they knew it, they were on their way! They set up a website www.myspace.com/angelsofmercyministry and an email address angelsofmercy@insightbb.com and waited for referrals. They went from helping one family to five families.

How Angels of Mercy works is that they keep their ears open. When someone tells them about a need, they pray about it and decide how they might be able to help. The needs so far have ranged from food to tires for a car. Angels of Mercy gives the family a letter and tells them that it was now their turn to "pay it forward". They ask for them to either nominate a family or to donate their time or some goods in the future when they are back on their feet again. Families have ranged from financial difficulties to a grandmother that just does so much for others that they deserve a little pampering.

The first family that Angels of Mercy helped was about to file for bankruptcy. The mother of that family told Angels of Mercy, "Every person should experience this feeling that you've given to me." With that, Angels of Mercy knew they were doing the right thing in forming this ministry.

While Angels of Mercy is still in its' beginning stages, they know that God has huge plans for them. They are hoping to get local churches to team up with them so that they have many resources when it comes to crunch time! They even had someone tell them that they believed they were going to do things as great as building a house for a family in need. WOW! That would be incredible!

They get their inspiration from the story of the Good Samaritan in the gospel of Luke 10:27-37. A man was beaten and left for dead on a road. People just walked over him and never paid any attention or offered him help. Then, a man came along and noticed his plight. He helped him up and took him to an inn to recover. He told the inn keeper that he would take care of all his expenses. That was a story that Jesus told to His people. He commanded His people to go and do the same...help those in need. Be a "neighbor". Many families feel this way...they just wish SOMEONE would notice their needs, not just pass over them like many in Jesus' story did. Angels of Mercy just wants to be obedient to God's word and be that neighbor to people in their community.