Jan Williams lives in the small borough of Fountain Hill, a suburb of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a population of about 5,000, and is a member of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania.
Jan has a Blessing Box in her front yard to serve her community. It is stocked with food for people who need a little help and snacks for kids who may not get extras. Williams also supplies it with New Testaments, along with other reading materials and even some craft items for children.
The Blessing Box, free for anyone who needs it, has a sign that reads “Take what you need… Give what you can! Blessings to all!”
Jan began by giving Pepperidge Farm items from her niece’s delivery route, which occasionally has excess stock on the verge of going out of date but is still usable. “I hated for her to throw it away and waste it. I wondered how I could give it to the children who walk to school. I remembered hearing about people having lending libraries and food pantries at their houses and so I went on Pinterest and found lots of ideas,” said Williams.
The box, built by her husband Wayne and his buddy, is a permanent fixture on their property. It is waterproof and has been serving the community since January 1, 2021.
Although the box was intended to be a blessing for others, Williams too has been blessed by it. “I hoped that God would allow the people of this community to trust us enough to take the food they need and to be thankful for it and to know the love of sharing. I didn’t expect that I would be the one that’s been blessed,” said Williams.
God has used the Blessing Box as a way to mend broken fences between the Williams’ and a neighbor. “Our street is full of houses and lots of cars so parking is a problem. It was a silly reason to fall out with each other but nonetheless it happened and we really disliked each other,” she explained.
One day, Williams’ neighbor stopped by to talk to Wayne about something. During their conversation Wayne shared that they got off on the wrong foot and asked for a do over. The neighbor agreed, and the two men shook hands. “But the best part was when the man came down two times with his hands full of groceries for the Blessing Box. That was when I knew he was sincere. We are not the best of friends—yet. But God‘s not done with us yet,” said Williams.
The Blessing Box is supported with prayer and donations from Lighthouse members as well as donations from complete strangers.
Williams has plans to add a box to the side for prayer requests to be shared with Lighthouse’s Thursday evening Bible study group.
The Blessing Box is indeed living out its mission, “Take what you need… Give what you can! Blessings to all!”
Not only is God is using the Blessing Box to meet the needs of spiritual needs of strangers, but it has also met the need of reconciliation between the Williams’ and their neighbor.
Pennsylvania/South Jersey has 14 million people who do not know Christ. How are you blessing your community? #lovePASJ
