I was hungry and you gave Me food…
Matthew 25:35
Three weeks ago in our Middle East update, I wrote:
“Please pray for Christians in ‘Lucas A’s’ nation (Afghanistan). They have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Due to their proximity to Iran, and the large number of their citizens who returned home from that country, borders have been closed. Food shipments are severely limited. Food is becoming scarce in the smaller towns and villages, and food prices are doubling. Many of the saints are poor day-laborers who are now unemployed due to the lockdown and in desperate need.
‘Lucas’ has organized local saints in the cities to help get food to the house churches in more remote regions. Thanks to the generosity of HeartCry donors, we were able to send enough funds to feed 40 families for 2-3 weeks.”
This week I received beautiful expressions of gratitude from these suffering saints:
“This is H.R., a member of Evangelical Christ Church in Afghanistan. We all know about the epidemic COVID-19 all over the world. Our country ordered full quarantine and lockdown. Many of our people faced the problem of living expenses due to not working. There is even difficulties to provide basic daily needs and food. We have received the food packages, and have warm thanks to you for remembering us. It really encourages us that we are not alone. This was a good and helpful gift in our situation. Thank God for your loving heart. God bless you. Your desire to help others reflects the love of God and glorifies His Name. Some of our Muslim family asked me about the source of this food. I told them it was from Jesus and Gospel followers. This caused good thoughts about Christians in my family, and those of us who are believers appreciate this opportunity to promote Christ’s cause.”
“I am E.S., a member of Evangelical Christ Church in Afghanistan. In our country there is a very tough quarantine where no one can work to provide living expenses. Most of the people are concerned even about food. We have received your food packages, and it was really encouraging that you have such a heart of care. We appreciate your help. These food packages show that we are all members of one family of God, and we care about each other. Thank you. God bless you.”
“I am B., an elder in Life Church. We thank God for providing during this hard time for poor families that really need help. Here we have lots of families that are hardly able to find food for one day. With the situation of coronavirus, it is even harder to find work to make money. During this time we were praying that our loving God would help us to provide food for others in great need, and He answered us. By God’s help through you, we were able to buy imported food for Christian families in need.
One sister in our church is the oldest child at home. She and her 5 siblings live with their mother because the father died. No one in the home is working now and they have a hard time to live. Thankfully she knows God, and believes in Him and His steadfast love, and trusts Him with her life. When I drove to their home to give them the food, her family was so happy. They did not have anything to eat for that night, and God provided in just the right time. This helped our sister to trust in God’s love even more, and will help her to talk to her family about the living God. We are thankful for your help during this time. May our God bless all of you.”
“I am R., an elder in the church in Afghanistan. We want to thank you for standing with us in this difficult situation. We are in lockdown because of coronavirus, and we were so much in need of food, and praying to our Lord Jesus to provide our daily bread. After a few days, God heard our prayers, and one of our Christian brothers brought some food items to our house. When we saw God’s provision, we were so thankful that He did not forget us in this difficult time.
Our brother said that the money for the food was coming from outside our country, showing their love to us in this time. So, our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we would love to say thank-you for helping us and standing with us in this difficult time. It really means so much to us. We are encouraged so much and understand that we belong to one family of God. We are praying with love for God to bless you more and more.”
