a full wheelbarrow
Food dsitribution Refilwe
When you drive into Refilwe, you quickly notice that the roads are busier than average. Many people walk on the side of the road with a wheelbarrow. All are on their way to the community center, where Refilwe Orphan Care is able to do its work together with Stichting Bethlehem. Today there is a food distribution. This causes a lot of traffic on the roads. Mothers and grandmothers and other family members get up early. These are the families whose children also receive a daily meal and attend a Bible class several times a week. The wheelbarrow is still empty, but will hopefully be filled again today with food for the coming month.
A stack of chairs is waiting on the grass in front of the building. The wheelbarrow is parked on the side and the people take their places, scattered over the lawn. Around half past nine the grassy area has been filled little by little. Although, filled? Later it turns out that people keep arriving during the meditation.
Missionary worker Bolier starts the meditation with prayer. Although it is always special to meet again after a month, it was certainly the case this time. The previous evening a storm swept through the village of Refilwe. Several shacks have been completely destroyed. Others had to deal with a lot of flooding in their homes. All things got wet and have to dry again in the sun today. Fortunately (as far as we know) no people were killed. However, there is a lot of damage and this will require extensive repairs to the shacks in the coming days and weeks.
The planned Bible class on Genesis 3:8-10 is now twice as meaningful. Adam and Eve heard the voice of the LORD God in the wind of the day. The wind was also clearly heard in Refilwe during the past 24 hours. What does the Lord want to say with these adversities? And did we also hear God’s voice in them?
When a question is asked, many people say ‘eeee’ as an affirmative ‘yes’. Whether it really reaches the hearts remains difficult to say. The outside and inside of a person can differ in so many ways. Sometimes you think that people mainly come to fill their wheelbarrow with ‘bread’. At the same time, you are happy when a Bible emerges from a crumpled bag. All the little folds show that people open this Bible more often than just during the food distribution.
After the meditation, the names of the families are read out loud one by one. Each family receives a bag of flour, rice, oil, detergent and some other necessities. It is an art to divide this ‘bread’ over the coming month, so that at the end of the food package there isn’t a piece of ‘month’ left. In reality, this turns out to be quite complicated. What a precious grace that we do not have to fear a limited supply as far as the spiritual Bread is concerned. Whoever eats from this Bread, will never hunger. What an undeserved blessing that is. How we wish the Lord would bless these simple means.
Lianne de Baat
