In our part of the world, almost everyone does some kind of farming. Either they have a small home garden or many acres of planted fields. Tea, coffee, corn (maize), cassava, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, everyone has a special something they like to plant.
Every year, there are seasons of planting and during those times we know that church attendance will be down. People have to go tend to their fields for the success of their business depends on how faithfully they tend their crops.
In the same way a farmer tends his fields, we too need to tend to what God has put before us and to do it faithfully. There will be times when it appears as if nothing is happening but, with faithfulness, harvest will come.
Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”
Hope Center, Gatumba, Burundi
After months of preparation, God has blessed and this month our newest Hope Center has been launched in Gatumba, Burundi (our first was launched in 2007 in Malawi and is still in operation). Partnering with Hand of Hope, our team here on the ground and others, the center was successfully opened in February. We are now feeding 500 meals to the elderly, crippled, widows and orphans Monday – Friday.
While we are just in the early stages of the Hope Center in Gatumba, we are already preparing for the next phase of the outreach that we hope to initiate next year: a primary school. The existing property is not big enough to accommodate a school however, there are properties adjacent to/nearby the center that we are making inquiries on for the purpose of purchasing for the school.
The “600 lb. gorilla” in the room is of course, the eradication of poverty. At the root of poverty lies the spiritual source: sin. Sin corrupted the world and is at the root of poverty. At the Hope Center we unashamedly preach Jesus. Knowing Him is the first step to coming out of poverty. Poverty is also rampant in communities that suffer with illiteracy. Where illiteracy abounds, so does poverty. Education together with a relationship with Christ can raise people from the ashes and seat them with kings (see Ps. 113:7).
