Testimonials
January 2010
Charlie:
Thank you very much for the opportunity you gave me to be part of this blessing.
For me was an activity that reminded me of old times when I use to share with people in need back in my country. I can assure you that the main meaning of Christmas for me is sharing. Not just food or presents, but the most important is The Love of God.
Thank you for giving me the chance to share all the goods you collected and to see the faces of children and adults full of gratitude. That really made me feel so good.
God granted me a feeling of peace and joy after this activity and I am sure God brought you the same for being a blessing during this Christmas and I know that I was not alone in this feeling.
God bless you abundantly,
Pedro
January 2010
El pasado 24 de diciembre 2009, tuve el gran privilegio junto con varios hnos de nuestra congregación (Iglesia de Cristo Mi-El Maryland, Inc.) y con nuestro Hno. Charlie Mann, encargado del ministerio Celestial Manna, Inc. De compartir la bendición que fue llevada a un grupo de familias en la Zona de Langley Park en Maryland.
Ese día fue de mucha bendición para todos nosotros, ya que el SENOR nos permitió acompañar al hno. Charlie y a varios hnos de su congregación a repartir provisiones de Comida, Juguetes, Ropa, Furniture y lo mas importante “La palabra de DIOS”
Para mi fue una experiencia inolvidable, ya que nunca había experimentado la bendición de poder llegar a las personas necesitadas y llevar una palabra de aliento y de esperanza a través del mensaje de SALVACION de nuestro SENOR JESUCRISTO.
Creemos fielmente que el SENOR estuvo respaldándonos en esta misión, ya que pudimos hablarle a muchas personas del Amor y la Misericordia de DIOS y varias de ellas abrieron su corazón y recibieron al SENOR como su salvador.
Recuerdo específicamente a dos hombres que estaban bien borracho, nos acercamos a Ellos y les hablamos del amor de Dios y finalmente confesaron al SENOR JESUS como su salvador, ambos estaban llorando mientras hacíamos la oración de Fe, fue una experiencia maravillosa..
Agradecemos al SENOR por el privilegio que nos dio de ser partícipe de su obra y al Hno. Charlie y a los hnos. de su congregación por darnos la oportunidad de acompañarlos a esa misión evangelistica.
Gracias Hno. Charlie que el SENOR bendiga su vida y la de toda su familia.
¡Bendiciones!
Kennia
January 2010
When I first went on a food distribution trip with Celestial Manna in 2003, I was very skeptical that anyone in Montgomery County would be interested in receiving free food and a gospel tract. After all MC is one of the most affluent and highly educated political entities in America. It is the home of high achievers with expensive Euro-sedans in the driveway. Not only do most of these people not need physical food, they think they do not need any spiritual food.
Well, there is another Montgomery County, folks. It is made up of the people that make your landscapes look beautiful, do excavation to lay the foundations of your buildings, put down your floors, and do other backbreaking, dirty, and dangerous labor.
To my great surprise, these people gladly received both the physical and spiritual food offered to them on my first trip with Charlie Mann and Celestial Manna in 2003. I joined Charlie again in 2009 after recovering sufficiently from my multi-year battle with Lyme disease. If anything this trip did more good than the first one I went on, largely due to the participation of the Spanish-speaking church that partnered with us. I was truly the beneficiary of a great blessing during this opportunity to obey Messiah’s command to love one another!
I am not called to evangelize the proud and reluctant...I will leave that to others who are. The proud take much time, effort, and delicate handling to reach. Not so the poor and dispossessed. When they see believers blessing them by meeting their physical needs, while others ignore them, they are naturally attracted to the message behind it. So I will go after the low hanging fruit and CM is a great opportunity to do it.
Blessings in the Lord Jesus,
Mark
December 2009
Hola Hermano Charlie
Nos sentimos muy bendecidos departe del Eterno porque El nos ha permitido compartir con usted, el poder brindarle a otras personas el amor que El Senor tiene para con aquellos que lo necesitan. Usted esta cumpliendo con un mandato de Dios, de ayudar al projimo con vestido, alimento ect. Tambien el ver a los otros hermanos que sin ningun tipo de interes personal, sacaron su tiempo para servirle al Eterno, nos conmovio mucho, y dimos gracias a Dios por haber participado en esta actividad. Muchas gracias Hno Charlie por habernos tomado en cuenta, y que El Eterno lo continue bendiciendo junto a su familia, y fortalezca su espiritu de servicio cada dia.
SHALOM.
Sus hermanos en Yeshua Alvin y Rosario
February 22, 2009
My name is Parriz and I met Joan at church. After helping Joan for a while, she introduced me to Charlie Mann. Charlie gave me a local store in the DC area. I used to pick up food once a week but got very little food until I met the donation guy in charge and he is from Iran, my old country. Now he helps me to get good food.
Mr. Charlie was a blessing and a very big help to my family. I share food with 7 families in my neighborhood plus my own family of five. After I have shared with 8 families, I drive 16 miles the following day to Sycamore Spring farm, which is 2 miles out of Frederick or they come to my house to pick it up. They share the left over food with 10 more families in Frederick and some food goes to farm animals; 10 chickens and 12 goats. So everything is used and I get fresh eggs from them. With so many people are financially poor and suffering with this economy because they lost their jobs. Also they are praying to God every time I share the food. They told me it is a big help you are giving us the food. I was on real Estate business for 10 years. Since market crashed, I didn't have the job and this food from Mr. Charlie Mann is a blessing. It is a very big help to my family.
First, thanks be to God and 2nd to Charlie Mann. God bless all. Thank you very much for all your support.
Parriz
February 22, 2009
My husband and I have been helping Charlie Mann with food runs for about 12 years. Since we are retired, I am able to be a substitute pick-up person too. We share with 20 other families; some I take food to them, especially those who have no car, and others come to my house.
Every time someone calls me needing food, I use my car to take them to Charlie's house if I don't have food available. Now, since August 2008, my husband and I are living @ Sycamore Spring Farm, 2 miles south of Fredrick. At the farm, I help to sort the food and refrigerate it if needed, for 20 families. Also, the extra food like oranges, bananas, and bread remaining after the 20 families are served, are taken to Frederick Soup Kitchen on Patrick Street. Thanks be to God and Charlie Mann and family for all the support and food.
Sincerely,
Rod and Joanne
January 14, 2009
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mann:
Thank you for your in-kind donations to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH) in 2008. We rely on in-kind donations to meet many of the needs of people in our programs. Please know that this type of support makes a real difference in the lives of men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in our community.
With the help of supporters like you, MCCH was able to reach 1,700 homeless and formerly homeless people in our community last fiscal year. We provided permanent supportive housing - effectively ending homelessness – for approximately 100 families and 130 single adults. We also served 900 men in our emergency shelter and 160 people through our transitional housing programs.
Again, thank you for supporting the MCCH's mission of solving housing crises and striving to end homelessness.
Sincerely,
Sarah Martin
Director of Development and Communications
Montgomery County Coalition for Homelessness
December 29, 2008
Thank you for the wonderful pies and cakes you presented to this Department.
I greatly appreciate your generous gift and that you took the time to recognize the dedicated men and women of this Police Department. I am certain that I speak for all the members of our staff in expressing thanks.
We wish you and your staff a safe and happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Chief of Police
August 2005
Dear Charlie and Judy:
I have been truly blessed to know you and have you as part of my family. Your love and support both individually and as the head of Celestial Manna have meant a lot to me. Thanks to you, I have never gone hungry especially in the 3 years since I have not had a regular job. And as I have said many times, it is only through you and the dedication of your ministry that I have assurance that I will never go hungry.
The enclosed is but a token of my appreciation for all you have done but does not even begin to thank you.
I hope to be able to regularly support the wonderful work that you do for those in need.
Love always,
Leslie
March 24, 2005
I would like to start off by thanking you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to participate in such a great ministry. Because of this food ministry, we have been able to serve people who have lost their jobs, homes, and been in desperate need. I would like to share about some of the people we are serving; a single mom with three children who’s dad was murdered and receives very little assistance from the State; a single mom who has six children (one has a disability); a family of four who lost all of their income in one month and cannot find employment because of his area of expertise; and many more.
Thank you for allowing me to serve others who are truly in need. Reaching out to help people and give them hope truly makes me appreciate the life God has blessed us with and humbles me every time I serve. Thank you and to God be the Glory!
Jen
March 24, 2003
Our family very much appreciates how the weekly food ministry is meeting our needs.
To give you a little bit of background on our current situation, we are a family of five. My wife is not employed with an outside job as she is a full-time homemaker and home school teacher for our children at ages 8, 7, and 3. On December 6, I lost the job I held for 10 years to a company buy-out. The new company eliminated our division. I am tirelessly searching for a new job, but have not found anything up to this point. Last year when I found out about my lay-off, I had anticipated that I would have found something by this time.
The food we receive through the food ministry is helping us to make ends meet. The unemployment insurance we receive is not enough to meet even basic expenses. We have extended the ministry to minister to other families who maintain a large number of children on low incomes, or to families in similar situations like ourselves who are temporarily in transition between jobs.
Please feel free to contact us for a further recommendation of the food ministry program or to answer any questions.
Dave
March 14, 2003
Dear Mr. Charlie Mann:
We want to thank you for all the food that is delivered to us by our big hearted neighbor. Every Saturday morning, I wake up and walk over to our neighbor and select a few things along with other neighbors who are there for the help. I’m a cancer patient at Holy Cross Hospital. The things we receive every Saturday morning helps us a lot and we enjoy them a great deal. As we say in my country Costa Rica to people who bring such help-Que Dios lo bendiga ahora y siempre. God bless you now and always.
February 14, 2003
Charlie and Judy:
I wanted to write to express my heartfelt thanks for your food bank operations. I am a single mother with 3 small children; and the food ministry of Celestial Manna has been a great provision to our family. It has supplemented our grocery budget with healthy, nutritious, and well-liked food. We are truly grateful for this blessing in our lives.
Thank you for all your hard work, which reaches so many people in our community.
Sincerely,
Janice
Single mother
February 14, 2003
Charlie and Judy:
I am writing to tell you how grateful I am for Celestial Manna Food Ministry. As a husband and father, I had been working two jobs to provide for my family. We still struggled to make ends meet. Then we found out about your ministry through the one of the CM volunteer families. My wife started going to their Saturday morning food distribution. When we expressed our need, Charlie offered to have me help with a weekly food run. This food run has abundantly supplied our needs and the needs of other families we serve. We are very grateful for this blessing. Thank you, Charlie and Judy for your labor of love.
With gratitude,
Jaime
February 14, 2003
Charlie and Judy:
I wanted to write to express my heartfelt thanks for your food bank operations. I am a single mother with 3 small children; and the food ministry of Celestial Manna has been a great provision to our family. It has supplemented our grocery budget with healthy, nutritious, and well-liked food. We are truly grateful for this blessing in our lives.
Thank you for all your hard work, which reaches so many people in our community.
Sincerely,
A single mother
June 13, 2002
As a mom and guardian of seven foster children, who I recently adopted, I am very grateful for the ministry of Celestial Manna. Charlie Mann came into my family life during a financial hard time. He became aware of our family needs. There were numerous mornings were I would wake up and find boxes of food and clothes in my front doorway. This blessing seemed always to come at a time when we most needed it. Charlie has served us unselfishly with nothing to gain. This has been a true blessing. Thank you so very much.
Debbie
February 22, 2000
Celestial Manna has been a blessing for our family, and for many other families we know. I lost my job during the “.COM” bust, and was unemployed for a significant time. We finally got a job in the DC area. This area is a very expensive place to move into, and as expenses such as gasoline increased far beyond what we had budgeted; the food we received has been a tremendous help.
We have neighbors who lost their town home to foreclosure this past year, but who still live in the area with relatives. They have gone through terrible financial hardship, which sometimes required missing meals. The kids come to visit my wife, and she would often wind up feeding them. In talking with them, she found out they often had very little food at home. Because of the food received from Celestial Manna, we have been able to regularly give them food to bring home for their family.
We know a number of families who benefit from the food through Celestial Manna ministry. This ministry has relieved a lot of the stress people have had to live under and made a difference to a lot of people.
Mike and Beth
Dearest Charlie and Judy:
Just a note to remind you how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you so much for lives dedicated to the Lord and the welfare of His people. It is a joy to know you. Enclosed, you will find a small contribution for your food ministry.
Love,
Cheryl
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for providing for those that are in need. Like so many Americans, we're on a set and limited income. We also provide for an adult child living at home with special needs. By receiving the lovely bounty of fruits and vegetables, we've been able to stretch our income a little further. God seems to provide and this time, it's through you, The Celestial Manna, Inc.
Blessings to you,
A grateful receiver
I would like to thank Celestial Manna for the food donations over the past year. My family really appreciated their kindness and I would like to say "God bless you".
Sincerely
So Ui
Serving with Celestial Manna has been a tremendous blessing!
First, it's a blessing to see people who would otherwise go hungry get some nutritious food. Also, knowing that people can save a few dollars on groceries by subsidizing with food received from Celestial Manna is great. Moreover, having the opportunity to have enough food to share with even more people is great! My sister and I are honored to be a part of this Ministry.
Aside getting fulfillment in seeing others get blessed, we are physically blessed as well since we are able to partake of some of the food. I even save some for my "parents" (now living in VA). They got us involved by the way. They are still blessed in Virginia. With everything being so tight, it's great to know that God still provides for his children (believers and unbelievers alike). And I know he is using this ministry to draw people to Himself.
Thank you Lord for CM. Thank you Charlie for being a great vessel that is empty of self but filled with Him. Thank you volunteers of CM. This ministry won't be the same without you. And thanks to all those who partake of the bounty of this Ministry.
Sincerely,
Selasi
To Celestial Manna:
I wanted to give a testimony of how God has provided for and blessed our family through Katherine and your food ministry.
Some months ago, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to set a firm budget on our grocery expenses. My wife did not feel we could do this but we agreed to trust God to provide for us.
About that time, Katherine begun to set some food aside for us every week from your ministry after we had shared our need with her. The Father showed His faithfulness to us several times in specific ways. Sometimes, we would run out of things like milk or bread and would pray for God to provide and we received exactly what we were lacking in our home for food. And much of the time, we are also provided in abundance.
Our family thanks God for your ministry and Katherine's thoughtfulness to us, and we pray that he will continue to pour out abundantly through your ministry.
In Messiah,
Jen and Michelle
The food ministry has been a great blessing since I got involved in it.
Personally, I have been blessed just by being able to bring these items to various families who need them.
I have benefited from some of the food items that I have usually cut off my grocery list because they are too expensive to afford. It has also been of a great benefit to a young family with children.
An older couple is always eagerly waiting and hoping to receive some every week especially the milk that sometimes come in.
Several other families and individuals have also benefited from the ministry and are most grateful. I hope we can continue to be of help and blessing to them.
Vivian
Dear Mr. Mann
In today's world, it's been said that the middle class family is the working poor. People struggle to keep their homes. We struggle to pay our medical expenses, everyday debts go higher and higher while our salaries stay stagnant. For some people, there's no work at all.
But… here's this wonderful organization, Celestial Manna that reaches out to those in need with its generous gifts of food. Thank you for all you do.
I am a member of Action Worship Center. I have been blessed to receive help from your food ministry. The distance from my home to their home was a bit much for me so they referred me another CM volunteer who lives close to my work place.
This volunteer has been very faithful in giving of her time and energy to go and pick-up food for, not just me, but for others in need. Through her ministry, hundreds of people are being blessed - the homeless, single parents, the average family, widows, seniors, you name it. This ministry is truly feeding those who are in need.
I thank God for this food ministry.
Thank you,
Vanessa
I want to thank you for the support your ministry has given our family. It begun to help us be able to support eight kids and send multiple kids through college. More recently, my husband has been unemployed, and he is no longer able to help finance any of his children through college. We have also experienced more specific health needs. One of my children is on a very special diet and has a mysterious disease. We are waiting for Medicaid to go through.
You cannot imagine how we have depended on your ministry. We pray that my husband finds a job soon. If at any time, you need us to pick up food or deliver food, please do not hesitate to call us.
We also thank you for calling us about the tomatoes you gave us several weeks ago. Members of our family are on special diets, which they require fresh foods. The tomatoes are invaluable. Thank you.
Marian
Jesus is King! Praised be His name! Thank you for your generous donation of time and for all the extra food that you have given to EXODUS ministry's homeless, runaway, refugee, and latchkey youth in the nation’s capital. We are seeing great works being done by God. Thank you for joining us in fighting for the lives of these children and families.
Because of you, one of the most dangerous and blighted neighborhoods in Southeast Washington was claimed for Christ last week at our Festival of Hope. Exodus has been visiting Stanton Terrace for almost five years. Friday, we were able to join together with 35 student leaders from Catholic University, and the Baptist congregation from “His Church” to create a joyous community day for this beleaguered neighborhood. Activities included prayer, Bible study, catechesis, games, puppet shows, a free bar-be-que, landscaping, and several lucky people had their homes cleaned!
As always, I wish you could have been with us. As one student reflected, “it was as though the children and adults of the neighborhood were given permission to just have fun for a day.” They responded to the love of Christ shown to them like people eagerly but gingerly embracing the warmth and light of the sun after a lifetime of living in the dark. A seed of hope was planted this day in the hearts and minds of everyone there. By the grace of God, and with your continued help, we can nurture it for the Lord’s harvest.
Please keep us in your prayers. God bless you and thank you for all your support.
May