85 families now have goats. 45 young women trained in sewing over six months and given a machine to earn income. Over 70 young adults received career training. 60 persecuted Christian families received food and household supplies after their homes were burned down. All while the Gospel was presented to them in some form. All of these programs over the last three years cost ~$20,000.
Over 80% of the poorest of the poor live in the 10/40 Window, surviving on less than $1 a day. Yet only 3.3% of Christian missionaries work among them. At E4 Project, we began praying over five years for God to open doors for us to a country in this area as we read about the need for more believers to serve here. About a year and a half ago, the doors started to open. We are currently working with three partner organizations in Pakistan as God has clarified that this is where our additional focus should be.
I had one of those moments this past weekend that felt like a gut punch to my soul - a reminder from the Lord that I am not fully focused on His heart and His desire for us. It was both a beautiful and painful reminder. We were moving our son’s girlfriend out of her apartment in downtown Boulder where many of the university students live, as well as a growing number of people experiencing homelessness.
Our Family Stabilization Program in Gabon is through a partnership with MINE (Ministere de L’évangélisation et de l’enseignement des enfants - Ministry of Evangelism and Children’s Education). The team creates an annual plan each year based on community development principles, meeting physical needs and is rooted in evangelism.
Every month, we receive reports, stories of surgeries and treatments, and testimonials from Nebobongo Hospital in response to the funds we send.
In the two books of 1 and 2 Kings, there are 32 kings in both the northern and southern kingdoms and only eight (25%) of them actually chose obedience in their reign over God’s children.
Yes, there are times when it appears as if the darkness is winning. When the direction of culture, the circumstances of our lives, the poverty of spiritual life among God’s people seems tilted toward difficulty, decline, and even death rather than renewal.
We serve with incredible partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gabon who have sacrificed their lives to serve the poor and needy in the name of Christ.
I recently read the book, Something Needs to Change by David Platt. He talks a lot in the book about the need to meet people where they are at with their most urgent physical needs without losing our crucial role of sharing the gospel.
We have recently been going through a series at church about giving and generosity. For me, this is always a refreshing series because I am constantly challenged in thinking about how we are generous toward God. Giving is a spiritual matter, it is not a financial matter.
