On our recent trip to Burundi, we assured the people that God is their Father and he will care for their needs. We were bringing hope to believers living in the second poorest country in the world. But, it is hard to bring hope if you have no intention of bringing help. Jesus told his disciples, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Burundi has experienced years of civil war, genocide, poverty and political instability. These have left the country in a state of social and economic exhaustion. Yet God is working - and he most often works through his people. So we are working. We work with the nationals to bring Hope and Help to our sisters in Bujumbura.
One Trinity Partner is a friend of ours appropriately named Peace. She has developed a Sewing Center to help impoverished women to learn a trade, regain their dignity and earn a little money to live on. At the Sewing Center, they also find a loving community of believers. One of the women shared Psalm 84:5-7 with us. "Blessed are those whose strength is in you . . . As they pass through the Valley of Tears, they make it a place of springs . . . they go from strength to strength, till each appears before God." How many tears have these women known? Many of their family members have died in the genocide? They have been left homeless, impoverished and abused in ways I cannot describe in this blog. Yet God is turning their tears into springs. Pray for the women at the Sewing Center, that they can truly experience the abundant life that Jesus offers.
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