Camila Almeida is one of the young adults who participates every Saturday in the prayer group at the Shalom Catholic Communities Center of Evangelization in Cambridge, Mass, USA. Three weeks ago, she began to undertake simple acts of charity, by the grace of God, she started collecting food and providing money for families facing financial difficulties during the pandemic.
It all started when two friends called asking for help. They had both lost their jobs and needed food. She started saving her own food and money to help them. By her quiet efforts she managed to help her two grateful friends. But this was only the beginning of the newness God was performing in her life.
After she managed to help her friends an inspiration came to her heart. Maybe there would be several other families facing the same economic hardships without any friends to help support them.
So she felt God calling her to do something more to aid those families. Although generous of heart, she knew more would be required than her own generosity to provide the assistance these people needed. Certainly, the need was great, but she knew from her time spent at Shalom, that all things are possible in God. Prompted by her intuition and her prayers she posted across her social media, asking if people needed help. Sure enough, people started to contact her asking for help. Still others offered there care and financial support. While volunteers began collecting food, goods, money and other donations in their own neighborhoods to bring to Camila’s house. And over the past few weeks the operation has only grown.
She felt herself in a real mission of love and through her prayer God was leading the way. She testifies:”My thought was this: each person I can reach with this initiative and is willing to help is one more family that will be helped. I was counting on the assistance of Merciful Jesus and the Blessed Mother, asking them to touch people’s hearts to be available to help us. When I was praying the rosary, I asked Our Lady that if any father was at that moment praying for help and was hopeless that something unexpected could happen, that God’s providence would bring him to me in some way.
If you would like to help Camila’s initiative contact: apostolicaboston@comshalom.org.
