Blessed are those who consider the poor! --Psalm 41: 1
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put into small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
I had a special privilege of witnessing the power of God’s Word in Psalm 41: 1 and Luke 21: 1-4 on Saturday and Sunday at COTA Church of Gikomero. Our brothers and sisters, living in severe poverty, are giving out of their poverty to rebuild their new church which fell down.
Saturday we saw the new strong foundation. Pastor Alfred shared he is giving the funds received for his greatly needed motorbike to the construction of Gikomero’s new church. Sunday a collection was received for the rebuilding of the new church. A member brought forward a bag of vegetables, this was all they had to offer. These were sold and funds used for the church. One of our Interpreters was so moved by the love for Christ church, he promised to donate five 50 lb. bags of cement. The congregation was thrilled with this precious gift!
God desires us to love others as He loves us with a love we do not deserve! Pastor Alfred and our brothers and sisters of Gikomero are loving others well! They are sacrificing all they have for the sake of the gospel through the reconstruction of their new church and sharing the gospel within their community. I am challenged to be more attentive and eager in seeking God’s will as He speaks to my heart in regard to making sacrifices to further His kingdom.
God gave me a beautiful gift on Tuesday as we toured the Shyogwe Diocese projects. As we entered the Mother’s Union Vocational Sewing Class, I heard a young girl call my name as she jumped out of her seat and ran into my arms. I looked into her face, and saw Belise, our Compassion child! We sat together holding hands during the team’s visit. My heart was overflowing with love for Belise and praise to God for this wonderful, wonderful surprise! What a blessing it was to tell her I would visit with her on Thursday at the Compassion Project! Claudine, director of the Mother’s Union, told me Belise is a very good student and will graduate in October. I am very proud of Belise and grateful to the Mother’s Union for educating the young girls with the skill of sewing. The Diocese’s desire is to have the opportunity to give each girl a sewing machine at the time of their Graduation, so they are able to work at home and help provide an income. Currently the funds for these sewing machines aren’t available. I pray the funds will become available. As our brothers and sisters say, “God will provide.”
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