The spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

This week in church we were joined by two families from Ukraine who are being hosted by members of our church. Afterwards our three children had many questions, and we spoke about the war and the impact it was having on families who were seeking refuge. It made me consider the unseen impact of events and situations on those in need. We would ask that you join us in prayer for those facing tough and difficult situations, and especially the impact that we don't often see externally. This also applies to the increasing cost of living crisis in the UK, a situation that is impacting many. Please do pray that, as a charity, we can help to meet the practical needs of those in these situations, but also for the impact that this has on individuals mentally and physically.

This month we're very thankful to God for:

• A fantastic response to our Easter Fresh Start Appeal, which saw 115 requests met and over £13,000 given.
• A continued interest from some press and radio over the past few weeks, as they respond to the ever increasing cost of living.
• A fantastic meeting with a group of Christians Against Poverty churches in Wales, who were very positive about partnering with us. We have very few partners in Wales, and these connections could be monumental in helping us to see more people in need helped in this country.
• The 642 individuals and families who have been helped in March by Acts 435 Advocates and donors with £74,190 distributed to those who need it most.

Please also pray for:

• Over the past few months, Acts 435 has been in a lengthy process of having its website rebuilt. This has been a challenging process but we are now in the home stretch of getting the website ready for launch. Please would you join with us in covering this with prayer? In particular, please pray that we can agree on a date with our developers for launch, that we can all work effectively to that deadline on the outstanding work and that God fills us with peace about the actual process of deployment of our old website onto the new.
• Opportunities coming up in the next two months to talk to networks of charities and organisations who may want to partner with us. These include The Message Trust and Christians Against Poverty.
• The communications team as they put together resources for churches to share with their congregations in July.
• A connection with The Guardian who has said they may feature our work. Please pray that this opportunity comes to fruition, and that it bears fruit.
• Our online supporter events tomorrow, please see below.

Special Event for Supporters - Giving Hope Together

We would appreciate your prayers for our special supporter event, Giving Hope Together,which is happening tomorrow, on 5th May.We are going to hold this one-hour event twice, at 11am and 7pm. The purpose of the event is to gather donors, advocates, and other supporters to hear more about how we are responding to the current crisis in the UK, and our plans and vision going forward. We will also be sharing our Annual Report, and most importantly sharing some inspirational stories from our local advocates who are helping those in need in their community.It is an open invitation, and we would warmly invite you to join us. The event can be accessed on Zoom with the Meeting ID: 822 0562 2080 and password: 435Acts so feel free to share with friends who might be interested in hearing more about Acts 435. Alternatively, the link is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82205622080?pwd=aUFYaHZaZFUvblhvdzY1QXNkc2hpZz09 If you would prefer not to join us on Zoom, but would like to watch the event they will be streamed onto our YouTube channel and Facebook page at both of these times, and available afterwards also.

As always, thank you for your prayers for these individuals, our Advocates and for Acts 435 as we seek to do more for those in need in the UK.

Katie GreenePartnerships DirectorActs 435