In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus directs us to love God with all of our heart and to express that love by selflessly giving to others. In short, He compacts the gist of all the lessons of the prophets into a single word — love — a word from which miracles spring.

Fuller Center for Housing supporters and volunteers are fulfilling Jesus’ two Great Commandments by spreading love in visible, tangible ways through this ministry. You are selflessly giving while at the same time empowering and uplifting families.

Of course, that word neighbor is also pretty important at The Fuller Center, and last month our volunteers not only expressed love but also created new neighbors — literally — by building two homes for single parents next door to each other in our late founder Millard Fuller’s hometown of Lanett, Alabama.

Terrence Gibson is raising three daughters on his own, while Alexandria Williams is raising two little girls. They will be celebrating the holidays this year in their own homes for the first time — homes they helped build alongside our volunteers, homes made possible by your support.

On the other side of the Millard’s hometown, there are two more new neighbors — Theresa Davidson and Oscar Davis. Earlier this year, they moved into two new 800-square-foot senior cottages — again, next door to each other. The homes are well-equipped and just the right size for the needs of Theresa (who had been living in a hotel after her home burned down) and Oscar (whose shack lacked running water and who only wanted a decent place to live so that his granddaughter could visit him.)

I hope that seeing families uplifted and joyous in new homes during the holiday season warms your heart as much as it does mine. These children now have a proper foundation for success, and these seniors can live out their golden years in dignity and safety.

Our good friends Marilyn & Bill Emmert have offered to match your annual gift up to $25,000 during this year-end campaign. You can double your love for your neighbor. In fact, you can help us create more new neighbors and build more neighborhoods — in Lanett, Shreveport, El Salvador, Romania … and in more than 100 sites worldwide. Yes, we’re growing! Our impact also is growing as 93 percent of every dollar donated to The Fuller Center goes directly to work in the field, far exceeding nonprofit industry standards.

“This means everything,” Alexandra told us at the October dedication of her home, the same day daughter Jordan celebrated her 8th birthday. “I just want something that’s going to be mine and know that my girls will always have someplace to go because I never had that — never.”

Children, hard-working adults, seniors and all of God’s people should have someplace they can go that they consider home. That’s what you can provide for more families like these. This is a real, lasting, tangible way that you can love they neighbor as we are all commanded to do.

I hope that your home is filled with joy this holiday season. Thank you for your support as we continue pursuing Millard’s dream of helping all of God’s people to have simple, decent places to live.