October 5, 2022
My wife Kathy and I have just returned from Africa where we met with our champion ministries in South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi. It was good to connect after the 3 year Covid hiatus. We discovered, to our great surprise, that the pandemic has all but been forgotten in that vast continent.
Yes, the vestiges of Covid still persist, especially in terms of the increase in daily living costs. Food prices, medical services, transportation and general expenses are all up, in some cases 100-200%, but morale is much higher than one might expect. Over half of Africa’s population is under the age of 25. This may account for the resiliency of the various nations. Certainly in the countries in which we work that is the case. Suffice to say we found our partners burdened but optimistic. They are a hardy bunch with profound faith in the Lord’s provision.
We spent many hot and dusty hours in the rural areas of Zambia and Malawi. Everywhere, including the peri-urban areas of South Africa, we found child-like faith and hope among the vulnerable. Again and again, we were asked to convey deep gratitude to our faithful North American donors for their unflinching generosity during the past 3 years of pandemic stress.
Once again Kathy and I were humbled and hushed in our response to such simple faith in very complicated and adversarial times. We often wonder, as we have these past 22 years of ministry to orphans and widows, who is ministering to whom? We return with deep gratitude for the undying trust in God by those who are dying.
What a privilege it is to care for “the least of these”.
