Imagine plunging into this to start hacking out and uprooting these thorns.
Yet, many people in our community are happy to do just that.
Right when we ran out of food and money and thought we would have to bring the Food-4-Work to a standstill, we received an unexpected gift of food boxes from Living Water. As a result, we are able to give 30 families work for the week in three different locations around our community. Once again, God demonstrates his love and care for the people of the Plateau.
As our community faces desperate times, the Food-4-Work projects offer hope and relief to struggling families.
More than that, the people are beginning to really see the value of removing the thorns and cleaning up the area surrounding their homes. They are showing an excitement and motivation that goes beyond just the food or cash they receive for their work–a growing sense of pride for their community and their own participation in its development. Even most of those who, in the beginning, were doubtful or even opposed to the work are now participating wholeheartedly as they gain understanding and see with their own eyes.
It is our prayer that we can continue to implement these Food-4-Work projects to relieve the suffering of our community and to lift it to a new level of development. But even more, we pray that the eyes of the people would be opened to the spiritual realities that are so vividly manifest in their physical surroundings. (Stay tuned for “The Parable of the Thorns.”)