Food Distrabution

I could not begin to share with you all God is doing!  Last year we felt we were enduring a pruning process and held onto the hope of greater fruit to come.  We have been excited to see God's Spirit at work in Obulle.  People are coming to Christ each week,including a neighbor we have prayed for; lives are  being transformed; marriage conference; growth in the Freedom in Christ course; testimonies of the course and God's Word bringing peace to lives; food distribution... Last week one of our church leaders shared that if Josh and I were a tree our branches would break with fruit.  I sitting back praising God for all He, and He alone, is doing when I realized this is the fruit!  God has been faithful and brought fruit from the pruning.

I am sharing a video on the food distribution that took place this week in Obulle.  It was another one of those days that was pure joy!  This year because of lack of rain most people got little or no harvest.  People are hungry.  On average people were eating one meal a day.  A bad harvest means a year or more of hunger, no money (because they couldn't sell goods), lack of school fees...  Josh and I have been praying for months if God wanted us to do anything to help and how we could help.  It is so overwhelming when everyone, not just in our area, is suffering.  But God has given us people we know and love.  After months of prayer, Josh, Collin Rosser (another missionary we work with in Obulle), and the church leaders came together to discuss what could be done.  We are so thankful for the partnership with have with people here.  They had so much wisdom, helped incredibly, have God's heart, work hard, and are trustworthy.  Following several meetings everything was in place.

Thanks to the generous giving of Rosser's supporters we were able to give a 200 pound bag of corn flour to 567 families (plus!) in 4 wards.  (That is about 60 tons of flour!)  This was a God-size job and He did it all!  Lots could go wrong with this and yet nothing did.  It is amazing.

People came early since there was free food to be given out.  About 7:30am Tuesday morning Josh began the time by letting everyone know it is because of God's love and the love of Christians in the USA that food was available.  He then shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- how awesome to share with some who would otherwise never listen.  Josh ended by mentioning the common Ateso practice of telling each other,  "Greet him for me" instead of going yourself.  Don't send someone to greet God for you - greet God yourself by putting your faith in Jesus!  Everyone understood the truth in it and laughed in response.

Then the distribution began.  Each door on the church was one of the four ward areas.  Workers carried out the heavy bags of flour as names were called.  (The local government people helped us gather the family names of people in each area.)  I was amazed at the organization and how smoothly it all went.  Everyone knew what to do.  People waited patiently for their name to be called, boda-bodas (motorcycle and bicycle taxis) were busy transporting bags, young men carried the heavy bags out the door to the families, leaders called out and checked off names...  I had so much fun watching it all!  People were enjoying the fellowship, they were thankful, everyone was working together, and helping others.  I had never seen anything like it or been apart of something so big. 

By 10:30 almost everyone got their food.  Then families who's names did not get on the list - teaches who aren't from Obulle, people in need who recently moved to Obulle (like the Karamojang), and those just missed - got the extra bags of food.  I went home about 11am knowing I had just seen the hand of God at work.

Our church leaders had been working on the food distribution details since Sunday and even slept at church to make sure the food was safe, and if all that wasn't enough they decided to have a worship service Tuesday night to thank God for what He has done.  At the service each person thanked God.  One shared what when food was given out when they were children you would stand in line all day for three cups of flour.  They had never seen so much food freely given.  Penna said now we know what it was like for Jesus to feed 5,000.  Dan shared that this will change how people pray.  Instead of pleading with God they will now thank Him.  Another thanked God for the unity and seeing the church be the church here and in America.

So enjoy the video with a visual of all God did.

One last note, please remember and be thankful.  I know we don't like to say or admit it, but we are truly rich.  We do not know what it is like to be hunger, to be without, and to not know where our next meal will come from.  I am the first to admit I had wrestled with the injustice in this world and I have mourned over my own sin.  I can't not begin to understand.  I have to exercise because I have too much food and others don't have enough food!  God forgive us.  I pray we all learn to not take forgrated the blessings God has given us each day.