Gift of Grain 2012

Over 2 months ago, I watched my country enter into a turmoil I thought could never happen here...a peaceful country and a peace seeking people. I watched the struggles escalate to the point of evacuation not knowing what would happen with all that God had planned for us this year. I cried out to Him to finish what He had started...to allow us to re-enter our country and complete what He had begun. He heard and He promised to do just that ...finish what He had begun.

It is so incredible to be able to see God's promises fulfilled!! It is so empowering to see Him finish what He has begun!! F@ith comes rushing in to help us when we cannot see how it can happen!! For all of that my heart is full of gratitude today!! Today, I marvel at His f@ithfulness...pr@ise Him for His great love for the people of my country!! I bow in surrender to the One and Only who is ABLE!!

On Thursday we sat with D@n who went in our place to help with the Gift of Grain. He had returned with pictures and stories of how our Father was at work. He told us of a man who left his home of the day of the distribution because he had no food for his family. He left to go to another village to ask someone for money for food. He came home without money or food...only to find that G0d had brought food to his family that day.

D@n told us other stories of f@ith ...of how our Father is at work drawing people to Himself despite the struggles and difficulties in our country. One shepherd was sick. P@stor D@o prayed for J.s.s to heal him. This man put his f@ith in J.s.s and believed. He was healed and now he has chosen to f0ll0w J.s.s even though his family will not agree  and his wife will not eat what he provides. She calls him "cafre" which means pagan.  His confession..."I will die on the J.s.s road no matter what my family says."
 

A woman who had been possessed by demons and freed through the pr@yers of our Father's servant came to w0rshipon the Sunday after the food distribution for the first time. She had chosen to f0ll0w J.s.s but her family did not agree. This week she found courage to come from a village 45 minutes away by car(which she does not have) to join with other f0ll0wers in w0rsh!p.

The final number of families impacted by the unfailing love of our Father through you and the Gift of Grain Project is 238!!! We distributed 260 of 261 bags of grain in the name of J.s.s and because of His love! 

Thank you for your part in demonstrating our God and His love to those who are in desperate need!!

humbled by His grace and unfailing love...

Different But the Same

While we waited for the trucks to arrive in one village...an extra few days...we took advantage of that time to join the women in a baby naming celebration. We took a journey through the village greeting people and visiting the family of the man who was leading us to the ceremony and translating for us. We arrived and groups of women were all sitting around doing different things. The woman who had the baby that was being named was sitting with her friends inside the house...the dark, hot house. Most of them had their own babies and they were enjoying their time. After greeting them, we were led to an area where most of the older women were sitting. They were talking while some were stretched out on the mats and others were getting henna designs on their feet.

We greeted them and they gave us places to sit among them. Then the real greeting and the talking began. It was a sweet time of honesty and talking. After the ladies greeted us they expressed their hearts to us. It was a powerful moment in my life and my understanding of what it is like to be on the other side of entering a v!llage as a stranger. I have prepared many teams and individuals to enter a different culture and be prepared to become like them in order to make Chr!st known among them. The thing I guess I had never really considered was what was it like for those to whom we go to visit. What do they think about these strangers who crash their village, spend the night in their courtyard, and bring a message to them. As they talked with us one lady spoke for the group, "We are so glad you have come, but we do not know if we can touch you, what we can say to you, if we will hurt you. We do not want to hurt you with our words or our actions." It made me stop and think....we are the same! Those are the very concerns we have as we enter and seek to make J.s.s known. Will we offend, will we hurt, will we close the door by our words and actions. It seemed that the honesty of these women broke down the barriers.

As we continued to talk we had the opportunity to tell the story of how Elizabeth and Zechariah named their son John. We talked about the story some and then the floor was opened for us to pr@y for them. It was a powerful time where G0d's Spirit was obvious, where a oneness had developed, and where women from very different cultures were bowed before the Father.

Redeemed Time

As we passed out grain and I considered all that this people and this country have been through this last year with drought, famine, c0up d'et@t, occupation by rebels in the n0rth, the instability, the increases in food prices, and the list goes on and on, I had to bow before our Father in gratitude for the privilege to be here during this time. To be His servant and His witness at a time like this overwhelmed me with thanksgiving. To see the hungry be fed and to watch their struggles turn to dancing were sights that will forever be etched in my mind and on my heart!!

During the time we were in the village distributing food, trouble brewed again in the c@pital city. There were demonstrations and unrest. We received texts from the 3mb@ssy to shelter in place again. The newly appointed transitional president had been attacked. Again our hearts were broken for this people and this our country.

For such a time as this we were allowed to deliver food to the hungry and to declare the Good News of G0d's love to the people of this torn and hurting country and not shelter in place. To show them that G0d has not forgotten them, that He is acting on their behalf, that He is revealing Himself to them. As a group, we pr@ised HIM for where He had placed us and for the work He had given us to do. He had redeemed our time...instead of sitting in our homes taking shelter, He had placed us among the people to demonstrate His Presence, His unfailing love, and His f@ithfulness.

No Grain Left Behind

HUNGER...Have you ever experienced real hunger? I'm not talking about hunger that comes because you haven't eaten in 4 hours and the little twinge of pain you feel in your gut. I'm talking about real hunger...a nagging emptiness that has received no satisfaction for a week...a craving and urgent need for food...a longing for nourishment, strength, rest, and peace? Have you ever been so hungry that one tiny piece of bird seed or one kernel of corn would bring you to your knees to pick it up and protect it like your most prized possession?

I have never been that hungry...I have never experienced that kind of value in a grain of millet, a kernel of corn, or a single peanut. I cannot even begin to fathom the kind of hunger that causes a 2 year old child to see some millet seed spilled on the ground and bend down to pick it up cradling each grain in his tiny hand as if it were a piece of gold.

I cannot comprehend how much one kernel of corn must mean to a grown man who has had no food for his family and how the sight of a fallen kernel would bring him to his knees to salvage each one. No words describe the sight of a group of young boys scrounging around the ground scooping up every seed of grain, sifting out the dirt, and putting it in a bucket to take home to his mom.

These are the pictures that fill my mind when I hear the word hunger. These are the images burned into my s0ul when the word famine is spoken. These faces are the ones I will forever see as I read the words of J.s.s in Matthew 25:35-36, "For I was hungry , and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."

Shining Brightly Through Us

Calling for .75….calling for .25….calling for .5….calling for 1.25…

 

From the early morning to as the evening dusk was falling into night, a group of us ladies spent the day splitting millet, corn and peanuts. We scooped, held bags, tied bags, dragged bags to their respective drop off and greeted the people that came to our designated area for splitting bags. By the end of the third day our ears were ringing with the fractions of bags we needed to have available for the people to pick up.

It was a hard three days of work in the unrelenting heat; however, the heat or the work did not suppress the joy or the strength inside of us to give to these people every single seed, kernel or peanut that was theirs. 

Our hearts were filled with Romans 12:12:

“…work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope…”

Our hearts were filled with 1 Corinthians 15:58:

"...be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the L0rd, for you know that nothing you do for the L0rd is ever useless." 

We worked hard to serve the Lord; Father lead us to this village of hunger people so H1s gl0ry could be seen! Our pr@yers throughout the week was that J.s.s was shining brightly through us each and every day. It wasn’t the white person giving the gain or working hard to get the job of distribution finished. This was a time…Father’s timing for H1s gl0ry to shine brightly through us. Our focus each and every day was to be relational, not efficient…to boldly declare that it is in J.s.s’s name that this grain was given! 

By the end of the third day, all the people received their portion of food; the chief of the village looked at our team and said “It is by the courage and the strength of J.s.s working through you that made you work so hard for us.” 

At the end of the distribution we pr@ised Father because we knew that from the village chief’s comment that H1s gl0ry, honor and majesty was seen by the people. Pr@ise be to the Father who filled us with H1s strength, H1s boldness, H1s courage, H1s patience and H1s unfailing love to declare H1s gl0ry among H1s people!  

"...We preach that J.s.s Ch.1.st is L0rd, and we ourselves are your servants for J.s.s' sake. For G0d, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the gl0ry of G0d that is seen in the face of J.s.s Ch.1.st. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from G0d, not from ourselves."

Famine in Real Life

"G0d blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied."

 Luke 6:21a

This has become my prayer...that G0d would bless those who are hungry now...that they would be satisfied both physically and spiritually. 

I've read about famines, I seen pictures on television of famines, I been touched by the pleas of many to help provide food for hungry, starving children. In G0d's Word, many times you read of G0d withholding rain, bringing famine, and even telling the people ahead of time..."It will not rain until I give the word."

For the first time I experienced a famine personally! No...I was not the one who was hungry, I was not the one desperate for food, I was not the one unable to sleep because I had not eaten in a week, I was not the one fearful for the lives of my children because I could not feed them, I was not the shepherd who was watching my sheep, goats, cattle, and horses dwindle to skin wrap around bones, I was not the child who wondered why my mom or dad did not feed me today. No my experience was nothing like that! My personal experience came as I met those who were hungry and desperate and unable to sleep. I talked with those parents and saw those children and watched those shepherds with their animals. Everywhere I looked I saw famine and its effects on all of creation.  My heart broke! My life changed forever! My perspective altered--I will never be the same!

Clothe Yourself

"...Clothe yourselves with the presence of the L0rd J.s.s Chr!st."                  Romans 13:14

"Since G0d chose you to be the h0ly people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience...Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."      Col. 3:12-14

While I was so very excited to be wearing my orange and purple "shwarma" (not really it's name, just what we called it) and trying to "fit in", it did not take long for me to know that I was truly not one of them. I could not keep my head covered. I could not work without getting tangled up in my dress. I could not walk without tripping or stepping on my dress. I just seemed to have trouble with every aspect of it.




As I adjusted to my shwarma and desperately wanted to make a difference among this people, I was reminded that the shwarma was a great expression of love for this people, but it was not the expression that would truly impact them. It would be my ability to die to self (even when it is 127 degrees every day) and allow J.s.s to live through me. It would be the realness of His Presence alive and expressing His nature, His compassion, His gentleness, His Sp!r!t, His love for them through me. It would be the heart of Chr!st being expressed through my actions, my joining in with them in life and work, my hands helping them in real and personal ways, and my understanding of their real needs.

It was then that I realized I must clothe myself with something totally different from a shwarma...I must clothe myself with Him-- His tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and love. His Sp!r!t and the fruit of it displayed in my life would be the only clothing that could truly impact those with whom we were serving. Making Him known among the nations means truly clothing yourself with the Presence of the L0rd J.s.s. Chr!st above all things. There is no way that I in my own strengths, abilities, and thoughts can enter a new culture and make a difference for Chr!st among them. There is no way that changing my clothes, my shoes, my eating habits, or my language can reveal truth to them. Only His Presence has power to reveal truth and to love. Only His Presence has power to save!