J: God's Riches....

This week was busy but sandwiched between our food distribution and the Green Door dedications I decided to go out into the bairros and find three of our former recipients of our Green Door houses. I wanted to create a video explaining the blessing of owning a safe, cement block home. I had chosen these people randomly because I wanted to interview a widow, a blind person and an orphan. Often I intend one thing, and God shows me something completely different.

My first stop was to the house of the orphan. He readily agreed to the interview. As he was trying to articulate his feelings about his Green Door home, he stopped abruptly and his tears started flowing. Surprised at this, I asked what was wrong. He explained that his feet were in such pain and no one had helped him get better. I looked down at his swollen feet oozing with sores. I had known he had a problem with his feet but had assumed he was getting help. I asked if he had been to the doctor lately. He had not. So I stopped the interview and took him right away to see the doctor at our clinic. We were blessed that the doctor was "in" because he only comes twice a week for part of the day. What we found out shocked me. This orphan had been diagnosed a few years ago with skin cancer and was supposed to have been receiving treatments in Beira. The grandfather didn't have the money to take him to Beira for the treatments so he was left untreated. Now the skin cancer had spread unmercifully. It just costs $1.50 to get to Beira but when you live in extreme poverty, even that amount to the poor seems insurmountable. So his grandfather gave up.

My second stop was to the blind man's Green Door home. He was not home but his wife said he would be there shortly. We waited outside with his wife and children so I decided to strike up a conversation. I wondered if her husband had been blind all his life or had developed some kind of infection that caused his blindness. Often in poor countries a simple infection left untreated can cause blindness. She responded that he was blind because he had developed cataracts at age 10. I looked at her in surprise and explained that cataracts can be removed surgically. She said she knew. The blind man arrived at that moment and we continued with the conversation. I reiterated that cataracts can be removed. He agreed. He said he had gone to two different doctors, one in Beira and one in Chimoio and they had assured him that if he received surgery he would see again. I asked why he had not gotten it done. He very matter-of-factly explained that it would cost 2100mt ($67.74) and he did not have the money. So he gave up.

How does one get out of this puddle of poverty? Both stories were so hard to accept. My thoughts brought me back to a couple in the small town we live in Wyoming. The husband was diagnosed with leukemia last year. He was not able to work and help support his wife and children. Added to this was the extreme expense of our American healthcare system and the fight for a transplant. It would mean he would have to go to Denver and stay for three months. The expenses seemed insurmountable. But many Christians surrounded them with love meeting their needs in a variety of ways: rent payments, food, medical expenses, gas, a place to live and furniture in Denver and lots of prayers. He came through with flying colors and is home now recuperating.

Needs are relative. Poverty doesn't end just because a rich man helps a poor man. How I wish it were that simple! Poverty begins in the heart. Its panacea also begins in the heart. The Holy Spirit is the catalyst to move men's hearts to give whether they are rich or poor. He empowers them to give because of love. He empowers them with a faith that says God blesses the giving of the rich and the poor and He meets needs beyond anything we could have imagined.

He empowers us not to give up.

2 Corinthians 8: 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

We were so blessed this week from donors from our church

in Wyoming to be enabled to give this distribution this week.

Oil, flour, beans and blankets!

The people in Project Life, our AIDS hospice were

the recipients of this distribution. We also were able

to bless the widows and visitors that come to our

weekly Bible studies in the bairros.

We do, however, have to make sure that we only

let in those on our list of names. Otherwise, all

of Dondo would show up!

We use this time as a church service.

We also give instructions on the distribution.

It tickled me when I heard Carlitos explaining

what it would feel like to use a blanket. It has been

my heart to see each one own a blanket because many

of them sleep on dirt floors and just use capalanas (or

a thin material) for a blanket. It does get down to 55 degrees

at night during the winter. I had never thought of the concept

that they had never used a blanket before and needed to

know what to expect!

I have mentioned before that many women

do not read and those that read do not read well.

This lady was practicing her scripture I had

given her to read during the church service.

The activistas help distribute the food. I had

chosen purple for their uniforms because it

represents royalty. I constantly remind them

that they are employees of the King of Kings.

The food was a handful but such a blessing.

Although the distribution went very smoothly, I cannot say buying the food in Beira went so well! In order to find each product, we had to hunt around Beira and find the right seller. I gave each businessman two weeks warning about the number we would need and they assured us it would be there. A Pakistani businessman sold us our flour and oil. He had promised 185 individual sacks of 10 kilos of flour. He only produced 80 after we had already paid him. Then he ran around to other shops looking for larger bags. It would mean we would have to divide up

the flour in our own bags - lots of work but better than no bags. Eventually when we got home in Dondo, we discovered he had shortchanged us 5 large bags and 11 bottles of oil. So we had to return the next day to claim the rest. We bought our blankets at a Chinese store where they assured us they would have all 200 blankets individually packaged up and ready. When we arrived to pick up the blankets we discovered they were in a warehouse in one huge pile several miles from Beira. We had to go there and package each blanket up while our truck driver that we had hired was counting the minutes up on his bill. Oh my...Walmart - where are you when we need you?