We have been challenged by the Great Commandment b] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it:[c] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 “ Our “neighbors” may live next door to us or many miles away.
Early August we learned that with the recent storms, the walls of the home of one of the kids on our Child Sponsorship Program had crumbled and the tin roof slid off. When her sponsor learned that this had happened, they responded that “they would like to help their sponsored daughter as they would their own.”
Jubilee Centre replied, “Thank you so much for your very quick response to the very urgent need of this family. On Friday I visited the family to see the situation as it stands. I am grateful to God for the sponsors and their willingness to help! Family is sleeping in the open – they used an old mosquito net for the structure on one side. The best logical way to help right now would be to help build something small, maybe three rooms so they can have some shelter and get out of the cold. I have asked someone to draw up how much it will cost roughly for those rooms. Pastor Grace told me they all have a cold and are coughing due to bad weather in the open air.”
The next day Jubilee Centre sent a cost estimate, broken down by section, to give the sponsors the opportunity to assist as they felt led.
The sponsors provided enough funds to build a new home and extra for essentials such as mosquito netting, medical needs, etc.
Jubilee Centre responded: “I am filled with awe at God’s amazing grace. I am down on my knees thanking God for using his people to meet this great need of this family. They have no idea what they have done. Evana’s mother is a very prayerful woman, she has been so strong in all this. Every day she gets up early to look for anyone else needing help with laundry and this is how she has been providing for her family since she lost her job.”
I received word that yesterday, volunteers from Evana’s church dug the foundation and erected a small sheltered space for the family to sleep. Quotes are being collected for building supplies.
We all can “Love our Neighbor”! A warm smile, prayer and words of encouragement can change a life. Lean in. To learn more about Jubilee Centre and our Child Sponsorship Program in Zambia contact: MaryJoB@FearlessFollower.org
