Today marks the 17th anniversary of Mercy Chefs and my heart is full of gratitude for friends like you who have made it possible for us to serve over 24 million meals to those facing disaster and hardship.

Our Mercy Chefs teams have responded to over 150 natural disasters, and every time we deploy it's a step of faith...

How can we serve the best? Where is the most urgent need? Will we have all the resources we need to meet what at times feels like an overwhelming need?

+ + Short of bread...

A few years back, our team was scrambling to meet the urgent needs of the folks in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Massive, sustained blackouts had left entire communities without a reliable source of food or water. Every day, the meal count grew and grew.

As our team gathered in the morning to pray, we knew we were going to be short of bread. The need was that great and there was just no bread to be found in the entire area. We prayed and ask the Lord to provide, and that day we saw a miracle! One of our outreach directors, Wanda, recalls what happened next...

"Once we began serving, the people kept coming and the bread was rapidly decreasing. Just as we handed out the last of the bread, a tractor trailer truck pulled up to our site and told us that they were from out of state and heard we needed bread! It was just in time to fulfill all the meals we served that day."

On the day of the amazing provision of bread, Mercy Chefs broke our then single-day record and served more than 20,000 hot meals!

Over the past 17 years, we've seen such "coincidental" provisions happen time and time again. That's because amazing things happen when we stretch beyond our ability to help those in need.

I want to thank you for stretching with us! Faithful friends like you have made every meal we have served possible.

On this our 17th anniversary, will you prayerfully consider "stretching" with me again? As I write, Mercy Chefs teams are in more places and serving in more ways than ever before. And we're just getting started!

I'm hoping that 1,000 friends will make a special gift this week so we can reach even more people as we embark on our 18th year. Perhaps you could match the largest gift you've ever made to Mercy Chefs. Of course, every gift will make a difference to those facing disaster and hardship. Go here to help feed hurting families this month:

Finally, thank you so much for your prayers and support. Behind every meal we serve and every family we help, a friend like you is standing with us to make it possible.

May God bless you,

Gary

P.S. If you missed my video, go here: