Sunday, September 8, 2013

God's Provision In God's Time


It was the last of three home visits for the day.  We were trying to finish up so the team could get on the road to Manzini and I could head back to the other two teams that were serving in Nsoko. The sky was starting to cloud up, bringing the rainstorms that would last over the next two days, making it difficult to get to some places because of the muddy roads.  
As we pulled up to the homestead, the gogo from the carepoint told us the story of these two young women in their twenties, each with a son.  Their parents had passed away, leaving the two of them as the only ones to provide for each other.  Both of them and their sons are all HIV+ and on ARV's, making it very difficult for them to get work.
As we sat in the shade at the back of their house & talked with them, I was struck by the fact that they just were telling us their story.  That they weren't asking for anything except for a Bible, yet open to sharing their struggles with strangers.  As I looked up at the house, I could see through the rocks to the inside and I couldn't help but think about the storms that were forecast for the next two days.  I imagined these young mothers trying to keep their sons warm & dry in the midst of rain blowing in and on them, or running under the walls.  And I was struck by their inability to help themselves in this situation. 

As we finished up the home visit and started walking to the car, I leaned over to my Swazi friend and whispered, "we need to pray that God will make a way for us to at least get them a tarp."  She agreed & we said we would talk more later.  
But God was already ahead of us on this one.  As I got into the car with a few of the team members who hadn't gone to that home visit, one friend leaned over to me & said "since I'm leaving Swaziland tomorrow, here is some money that I had left over that I want you to spend as you have needs here in Nsoko."
God answered faster than we could pray! I immediately told her of the home visit we had been on and how I had literally just a minute before said a little prayer that we would be able to help this struggling family.  
The next morning, as it was continuing to rain after raining all night, I stood outside at the hardware store watching them cut the tarp that we would be able to bless this family with.  We drove through the mud to find them huddled up in their blankets, wearing most of the clothes they owned, trying to stay warm and dry in the middle of the afternoon. 
We talked with them and gave them their new Bible, explaining how it is laid out & what the different numbers mean, and then before we left, we gave them the tarp.  We were all humbled in this holy moment at how God had answered an unspoken prayer of theirs by burdening another woman who they had never met, who was already on her way to the airport by the time we gave them the tarp.  Holy ground.  We were all standing on holy ground, amazed at the provision of God in His perfect timing. 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment