One of the families that I've been working with through Life Raft International contacted me yesterday. They were literally out of food, several members of the family were sick, and they didn't know what to do.
As of right now this family's financial situation is pretty uncertain. Rish just started a small business last week (see previous story below) but she has not had many customers yet and it will take time to get a solid customer base. Some people have shown interest in helping to regularly support them, but it's difficult to know how much they can depend on, and at the time of the phone call I literally didn't have anything to give them!
The family prayed. God answered.
When I got on Skype with Chris (the president of Life Raft International) he said, "It was so weird, today we received a random donation from a guy in Germany." Chris doesn't know anyone from Germany. I know one; the man that Jesus healed on the steps of a mall when I came to Bangkok last December (you can read the story under my "blog" section). When I inquired as to the man's name, he said Alex. Yes, it was the same Alex. And he had attached a message that read something along the lines of, "Give this to someone so that they do not loose hope." Wow. His donation came in at exactly the right time, giving the family a surge of hope.
Today I went out to buy groceries with them along with Evette and our friend Ray. "I am weak from not eating," said Moon as we were carrying food up to his room. The family had hardly eaten anything yesterday, and hadn't eaten at all today. Thankfully they were not sick anymore though.
They were very excited to start cooking and insisted that we stay to eat with them. This is very normal in Pakistani culture and it is impolite to turn down the offer. Even if they only have a little bit they will always serve their guests. Not only that, but they also insisted that we eat first! That's right, they were the ones that hadn't eaten for days and we had to coax them just to get them to eat at the same time. They wanted us to have our fill before they had theirs. How does that make sense? We weren't the ones that had been going without food.
I was humbled as I sat down with this family that has risked their lives and suffered greatly for the Gospel of Christ. They have been robbed of so much, and still they give of what they have. It amazes me and challenges me greatly.
You know, Jesus talked about not worrying about what you will eat or what you will drink. It sounds romantic until you sit with people that are starving and have no water. Suddenly it's not so romantic anymore. It can be more than a little worrisome. He says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and that all of these things will be given to you. Sometimes when I look at the situations of these families I don't understand how these things will be given to them. They're seeking after the Kingdom and God's righteousness and I'll be honest, sometimes I don't see how their needs are going to be met and it scares me.
But days like today inspire me. These people inspire me. God moving in a man's heart in Germany to donate to a starving family in Thailand at just the right moment inspires me. In times like these the revelation of who God is hits me like cool water on a hot day. God is God. He is who He says He is, and He is in control.
As of right now this family's financial situation is pretty uncertain. Rish just started a small business last week (see previous story below) but she has not had many customers yet and it will take time to get a solid customer base. Some people have shown interest in helping to regularly support them, but it's difficult to know how much they can depend on, and at the time of the phone call I literally didn't have anything to give them!
The family prayed. God answered.
When I got on Skype with Chris (the president of Life Raft International) he said, "It was so weird, today we received a random donation from a guy in Germany." Chris doesn't know anyone from Germany. I know one; the man that Jesus healed on the steps of a mall when I came to Bangkok last December (you can read the story under my "blog" section). When I inquired as to the man's name, he said Alex. Yes, it was the same Alex. And he had attached a message that read something along the lines of, "Give this to someone so that they do not loose hope." Wow. His donation came in at exactly the right time, giving the family a surge of hope.
Today I went out to buy groceries with them along with Evette and our friend Ray. "I am weak from not eating," said Moon as we were carrying food up to his room. The family had hardly eaten anything yesterday, and hadn't eaten at all today. Thankfully they were not sick anymore though.
They were very excited to start cooking and insisted that we stay to eat with them. This is very normal in Pakistani culture and it is impolite to turn down the offer. Even if they only have a little bit they will always serve their guests. Not only that, but they also insisted that we eat first! That's right, they were the ones that hadn't eaten for days and we had to coax them just to get them to eat at the same time. They wanted us to have our fill before they had theirs. How does that make sense? We weren't the ones that had been going without food.
I was humbled as I sat down with this family that has risked their lives and suffered greatly for the Gospel of Christ. They have been robbed of so much, and still they give of what they have. It amazes me and challenges me greatly.
You know, Jesus talked about not worrying about what you will eat or what you will drink. It sounds romantic until you sit with people that are starving and have no water. Suddenly it's not so romantic anymore. It can be more than a little worrisome. He says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and that all of these things will be given to you. Sometimes when I look at the situations of these families I don't understand how these things will be given to them. They're seeking after the Kingdom and God's righteousness and I'll be honest, sometimes I don't see how their needs are going to be met and it scares me.
But days like today inspire me. These people inspire me. God moving in a man's heart in Germany to donate to a starving family in Thailand at just the right moment inspires me. In times like these the revelation of who God is hits me like cool water on a hot day. God is God. He is who He says He is, and He is in control.
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