“Then
the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my
Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 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.’ Matthew
25: 34-36 (NLT)
I had the privilege in 2007 of visiting Zimbabwe with a mission
team. Our task was to help complete
construction on a Bible College building, and lead several seminars with the
pastor-students. We were many miles from
Harare, Zimbabwe’s capitol city.
It was all-consuming for 10 days; just being there, soaking-in
that culture was overwhelming. But
working in the 100+ degree temperatures carting water and cement
with a makeshift wheelbarrow took some of the shine off my cultural
appreciation!
Near the end of our stay I took a walk, hoping to learn a little
more about the people and their ways.
While I walked on that clear, hot afternoon, I heard a distinct,
rhythmic “clinking” sound…clink/pause, clink/pause, clink…
Moving towards the noise revealed that the source was a young man
sitting at the entrance to his home. He
was preparing his meal for that day.
Meal – singular! One
meal…for the day. Just one!
The clinking noise was the sound of the young man using an old
cylinder-head from a truck motor as a pestle, and bringing it down on a small
nut-like pod on a rock. It was maize, a
grain that is the largest diet portion of poverty-stricken Zimbabwean
people. When hulled, the grain is
smaller than a pea. The nutritional
value of maize is a little like eating dirt, and about as tasty. It only fills the belly.
The young man had been working all morning at getting enough
grains to fill half the palm of his hand.
He would mix it with water, form it into a biscuit and bake it over the
open fire in his front yard. This was
his meal…a small biscuit…singular….just one…only
one meal.
When it was time for our team of 12 people to leave a day later,
we left the $400 we had in our pockets to buy food for the students. (That $400 would feed all 80 students for the
next three months…try that at Whole Foods).
We also left most of our clothes and shoes. We brought our tears back home with us.
I found it increasingly more difficult to stay in touch with those
folks who had touched my heart and life.
Communication is not easy between North Carolina and Zimbabwe. Besides the lack of technology available to
the students, there is political corruption and incredible hardship.
But I recall their resilience and joyful spirit; I remember the
depth of faith as they gathered for worship on our last night together. It is imprinted on my mind forever how
reverently they shared the Bread and Cup of Christ.
These are my forever family.
They are the face of poverty, hunger and need. And when we feed them, we feed Christ.
Joshua and Renee Moose have deep ties to one of the churches I
serve, Pleasant Hill United Methodist.
They are missionaries to Tanzania, on the same Eastern side of the
African continent as Zimbabwe. Their
mission is to teach sustainable farming to impoverished people while spreading
the Gospel. You know the saying – give
a man a fish you feed him for a day; teach him to fish you’ve fed him for a
lifetime.
Add the spiritual
dimension of doing things God’s way – and you’ve fed the soul for eternity!
For You, Today…
Check out Josh &
Renee at their website:
You can give online
there too…just sayin’.
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