Lorna van Wyk’s Testimony – Fill a Bag
I recently read of an American named Bob who became a Christian. One day he asked his friend Doug about something amazing he’d read in the Bible. It was the words of Jesus: “You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.” Bob wanted to know if this was true. His friend explained this wasn’t a blank cheque but that God really does answer prayer. Bob was keen to start praying for something so he decided to pray for Africa. Doug suggested that he narrow it down to one country so Bob chose Kenya.
Doug challenged him to pray every day for 6 months for Kenya and promised him if nothing extraordinary happened within 6 months, he would pay Bob $500! So Bob began praying every day. For a long time nothing happened. Then one evening at a dinner party he met a lady who told him she helped run the largest orphanage in Kenya! Bob was so excited that he bombarded her with questions. The outcome of this was that he was invited to visit the orphanage in Kenya. He was appalled by the poverty and great need he saw so when he returned home he approached several pharmaceutical companies for help.
As a result the orphanage received over a million dollars worth of medical supplies. Bob was invited back to Kenya for a big celebration at which he met the President of Kenya. A casual remark Bob made to him later resulted in the release of a group of political prisoners that the American State Department had been working for years to have released!
So Bob never got his $500 but he learnt that God answers prayers way beyond our expectations. The author of the book in which I read this story, challenges his readers to try the “Bob challenge” and pray every day for 6 months for a country, a cause or a need and see what happens. I decided to do this, but what should I pray for?
Bishop George Irvine, when he ran a mission at Brooklyn some years ago said something I’ve never forgotten: “When a need wraps itself around your heart, you’ve found your calling.” For me that need was child headed families, so on the 5th of July I started praying. I looked on the internet and discovered that in 2006 there were 32 488 child headed families in Gauteng alone! I could find no more recent statistics. It seemed a nearly impossible task for so many teenagers to have the huge responsibility of caring for their younger orphaned siblings on their own.
As I was praying one day, I remembered a pamphlet I’d picked up at the Glen Church some years ago. It was about their “Fill-a-bag” ministry. I visited the Glen Church on a fact finding mission and discovered that they send out about 130 food parcels every month to needy families in Mamelodi.
It seemed to me that God was asking me to start a similar ministry at Brooklyn. That was quite a scary thought and I must admit it took me a whole month to stop making excuses and to find the courage to come and see Gary about it. His response was positive and encouraging but I still had no idea where our food parcels should be sent. I was aware that giving handouts can destroy people’s incentive to work because it’s easier just to get, so I felt it was important to find the people Jesus had in mind when he wrapped this need around my heart. As I prayed about this, God answered with a picture. He brought to mind a scene from a TV documentary I’d watched a year or more ago and hadn’t thought about since then. It was a program about the construction of the Chunnel, the rail link between France and England under the English Channel. The construction began on both the French and the English sides and the scene I remembered was the exciting moment of breakthrough when the two sides of the tunnel met and an Englishman and a Frenchman finally shook hands.
I believe God was telling me that as I was praying and planning on the side of those who would give, there were those on the side of the recipients who were also planning and praying and God would bring us together. For weeks I listened for the sound of “digging” from the other side but though I sometimes thought I heard something, nothing concrete happened. Then my daughter in America sent me a newsletter from Lesedi la Batho, Light to the People, a faith based organization working in Mabopane, a township to the north west of Pretoria. I read of the wonderful work being done amongst young people and the community at large through sport, education, skills training and job opportunities. They are helping people to become motivated, independent and self-sufficient. Their youth development program currently reaches the entire youth of Mabopane because, working with the Education Department, they have access to all 7 High Schools in the area.
The newsletter mentioned that they are presently buying food parcels for 20 destitute families and they believe God will provide food for 200 families by the end of 2013. This, I believe, is where we come in. Having met with Chrisna Groenewald, managing Director of Lesedi la Batho, I am confident that they can be trusted to distribute our food parcels wisely. It seems to me that this is where the 2 sides of the channel meet!
Both Gary and Taiki have recently challenged us to live simply so that others can simply live. Here is an opportunity to do just that. The food items required to fill a bag are listed on the bags and will cost approximately R150 each month. I have a fridge magnet that reminds me it’s a great mistake to do nothing because you can only do a little, so if you feel you cannot fill a bag alone, perhaps 2 or more friends could club together. Alternatively, remembering that Jesus commended the 2 small copper coins given by a poor widow, give whatever you can.
There may be those who are not “born to shop” or for whom a bag weighing just over 8 kg’s would be too heavy to carry and who would prefer to donate the funds and let us do the shopping. If that is easier for you, please place your donation in the collection bag in an envelope marked “Fill-a-bag” or make an internet payment with Fill-a-bag as the reference. The bank details are on the back of the notices. For those who enjoy shopping, bags will be available in the foyer after the service. Whichever option you choose, please come and sign up and help us to make a difference to those who really need our help.
In closing I’d like to read from Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
God bless you all and may you always have a good measure poured into your lap.