Bekah’s posterous

by Bekah Ferguson
www.bekahferguson.com

Going to Africa this summer was an eye-opener in more ways than one. Things that I saw and heard that impacted my life will always be with me. Some were lessons that will bless me throughout my life, others will haunt me always. There is a lot of pain and suffering in this world and we all know this. Seeing some of this suffering first hand is a very sobering experience, to say the least.

Throughout the Missions trip I was able to be a part of this summer, my team was able to do some door-to-door evangelism. One day stands out more in mind then any of the others. On that day, my team had travelled to a primitive town in Zambia called Kitwe. Though English is the National language in Zambia, we often found that in the more remote and primitive areas where there was less education, many of the people could not speak any English. So, we each gathered a handful of Gospel tracts in their native language (Bemba) and, splitting into groups, we began our door-to-door crusade.

This was a poor neighbourhood and even though these people didn’t live in huts as many others did, their homes were barely more than a step up. Here the homes were situated very close to one another, each family owning a tiny dirt yard. The homes were one level, standing about 8-10 feet high. They were made of cement and usually consisted of two small rooms. The windows were small, square openings in the cement walls and only a pinch of light could enter in. The floors were cement or dirt. Most of the roofs were made of tin. These homes contained little or no furniture and what furniture they did contain were often the extreme in ruggedness. At the same time, most of the homes were providing for a husband, wife and several small children each! We also found a lot of widows and single women trying to support themselves and their children. Outside of each home, in the dirt yard, children played or sat while their mother sat busily scrubbing dirty clothes by hand or trying to prepare some kind of petty meal.

In these homes, silverware and fine china is unheard of. A lot of food is consumed by hand. Some of these women, if they are lucky, own one or two beat up cooking pots. Obviously, without any luxuries of the home appliances most of us enjoy–such as an oven–meals are cooked over a small fire in the dirt of their “front yard.” For many of these Africans, even the most battered pair of shoes is considered a luxury. Many go without shoes. It was not uncommon to see individuals wearing shoes full of gaping holes. The clothes they wore were mixed and matched items, some threadbare or torn. For these people, life is very hard and simply providing for the daily needs we take for granted, is painstaking work.

As we visited these homes and tried to minister to these people, I felt completely inadequate. I would look down at my jean skirt, thick cotton T-shjrt, my clean hands, and my sturdy boots; I would think of my luxurious home in Canada; and a lump began to form in my throat. I realized at that moment,exactly how much I really did have back home. I realized how easy life was for me. Worrying about clothes or where my next meal was going to come from was something I had never had to deal with, but was for these people an everyday reality.

At this point, I asked the Lord, “What Scripture should I give these people?” I suddenly knew exactly what God wanted me to share. I opened my Bible to Matthew and with the aide of an African translator, I began reading this passage:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

I felt so horrible as I read that passage, for there I stood in my glamorous apparel, looking as though worry was something I knew nothing of. But, I knew that this particular Scripture would be a blessing to these people and that these comforting words of Jesus would mean far more to them then they ever would to me.

I don’t know why we are so blessed here in North America and why they are so poverty-stricken in South Africa, but I do know, that wherever in the world you might go, God’s promises are always the same. I realized that summer just how much I really do have, and the things that I used to take for granted are things that I now thank God for every day! We have so much and yet, many of us seem to be so oblivious to our blessings. We are always wanting more luxury and more toys; feeling like we can’t be happy until we have more. Yet, in Africa and even in Canada, there are many people who wake up each day longing for simply the basic necessities of life and they do not have them. So many of us are too greedy and discontent! We allow our riches to stand between us and our Savior. Why? Because with so much prosperity, there seems to be less need for God. Maybe that’s why Jesus said, “I tell you the thruth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23) We need to open our eyes and realize that what we have, He has given to us!

Where is your focus? Is it on what you have or is it on what you can give? If you find yourself worrying more about what you don’t have and thanking God less for what you do have, remember this passage:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . No one can serve two masters. . . . You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:19-20, 24)

(c) 2000-2009 - Bekah Ferguson


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