Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.
Today we rode about an hour outside the city to a small community which had been hit hard by the cyclone. After our group had given an encouraging message, we held a short discussion with the small church of twelve to assess their needs. All had lost much in the cyclone. Many lost their homes with all their belongings, and some even lost family members. Many were left with next to nothing. Here are their new homes, rebuilt since May:
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| From Jan '09 |
Being able to speak with the people on a more personal level worked well for we found out much about their individual plight. Imagine their sacrifice every Sunday morning- many walk four to five miles to the church no matter rain or extreme heat. The pastor's wife affirmed that they often come in drenching in either rain or sweat. Nothing can keep them away! Upon asking who needed a Bible, one woman jumped to her feet with the widest smile, before we could even finish the sentence! We felt very fortunate to be able to bless them with new clothes, blankets, umbrellas, oil and rice. We hope to come back soon to further help them get back on their feet.
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| From Jan '09 |
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| From Jan '09 |
A general consensus was reached upon the families speaking of businesses they would like to start, but are unable because they lack the finances. A $500 loan would seem to go a long way. In further questioning of their potential businesses, many already had a detailed plan down to the cent! Talk about industrious. Instead of handing out "fish", we'd much rather teach or enable them "to fish". It is encouraging to see how far they have come in rebuilding their lives since last May and without government help!
After listening to their stories, it is pretty obvious they already live on meager incomes averaging between $1 and $4 per day, eat meat four times per month, and never leaving the table satisfied. Most of the village seems to have the same health problems- headaches & breathing problems (I'm venturing a guess... the smog?) and loose stools (again another guess... the pale orange colored drinking water?). Our drinking water we purchased cost roughly $.75/gallon- much too expensive for them, unfortunately.
There were two young widows in the church. Both had very young children, one with a three year old. She has been a Christian for some time and after the cyclone hit, she rebuilt and was able to invite the other widow and family to come and live with hers. Through this Christ-like love, the other widow came to know Jesus and has been coming to church with her ever since! Their stories are amazing as they trust in the Lord for all their needs and are forever joyful! They continued to thank us for coming to speak to them and said what a blessing it was to have us there. But, we feel they blessed us!
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| From Jan '09 |
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| From Jan '09 |
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