Dear Friends,
In this month’s newsletter, we want to share about our involvement with In Touch Mission’s Project Joseph. The aim of the project is do use the opportunities created by the Coronavirus pandemic to further the Gospel. The name, Project Joseph, reminds us of Joseph of the Bible, who fed many people during the famine in Egypt. This is one of the main focuses of Project Joseph, to reach people by meeting one of their basic needs, food.
Project Joseph Food Parcels
Many people in Onseepkans rely on government grants. Take the old age grant for example, which is about R1 500 ($90) a month. This is the budget that the elderly have to service all their needs per month. If there are children in the household they might get additionally about R445 ($26,74) per month per child. Since many families do not have another source of income, they must use this money for food, clothing and other household expenses.
However, most of the people in Onseepkans is trapped in the vicious cycle of debt. It is costly to travel the 130 km (80.77 mi) to Kakamas and back. (Kakamas is the closest town with large retailers and cheaper prices.) This results in the people being dependent on the local shops. These shops use the opportunity to make money by selling their goods at high prices because they know people are dependent on them. Since the grocery prices are so expensive, the people start to buy on credit and go into debt. In the beginning of each month, they must first pay for the previous month’s groceries. On top of the high prices of the local shops monthly interest is also added. When this money is deducted from their grant, the little that is left must take them through the rest of the month. Since the amount left is so small they end up buying on credit again. So it goes on month after month, year after year. Add to this the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation of even basic goods, and you realise that living costs are more expensive than before. Now, more than ever, local people suffer.
Therefore, it was a great blessing to us when we were given the opportunity to participate in Project Joseph. We prayerfully asked the Lord to lead us and show us to whom we should give out the food parcels. We felt led to start by assisting 15 families and later increased it to 18 families.
Five of the ladies who received food parcels are part of our congregation. These are the ladies that we usually take to town in the beginning of the month, but due to Covid-19, we do their shopping for them. Each of these ladies have big households, taking care of their children and grandchildren.
Two of the other recipients are ladies of the community to whom we have reached out in a special way over the past year. One is a widow who lost her husband recently. She takes care not only of her own grandchildren but also of other family members’ children. Although she already is very busy, she was willing to assist us with the porridge distribution. She made her home available as a place where the community children could come to get porridge. The remaining recipients also were people in the community whom we got to know over the years.
In the food parcels, we tried to include all the basic necessary groceries needed in a household. This includes a variety of tinned food (three or four tins of each type), cooking oil, 5kg flour, 2,5kg maize flour, 5kg sugar, 4kg rice, as well as other staples such as beans, pasta and lentils. We also included a six-pack of 1-litre boxes of milk, 10kg potatoes, onions and peanut butter, as well as, spices and soup packets along with basic cleaning detergents and toilet paper.
At each household, where we distributed the food parcels, we explained to the people that the food parcels was not from any of the local mines or solar farms, nor from government, but from the Lord who loves and cares about them. We shared with them that we did not decide that they should receive a food parcel, but that it was also the Lord Jesus who decided that they should be blessed in such a way. We told them that they should not say thanks to us, but to the Lord. We also shared with them that one of the ways that they can thank the Lord for His provision was by honouring Him through their lives.
The people was greatly surprised and thankful when we stopped at their homes and started to load off the groceries. When they heard that it was the Lord who provided for them they were deeply touched and blessed by His provision.
Testimonies
We would like to share different short testimonies of the Lord’s provision through the food parcels to the participants:
In September, there was a wedding in one of the families of our congregation. One of the elderly ladies shared with one of us beginning October that we cannot buy her usual list of groceries when we go to Kakamas since she did not have enough money. She shared how she had to go into debt to buy clothing and other necessities to attend the wedding. Now she had to take money out of her much needed pension to pay this debt. Thus it moved her very deeply when we came and gave her the food parcel. She then experienced how the Lord provided for her family’s needs during a difficult time financially. She had tears in her eyes and said that she wanted to cry out of joy and thankfulness. We could share that the Lord loves each of us and looks after our needs. As we were leaving, she asked us to pray for her and to thank the Lord with her for His provision.
One of the ladies who received a food parcel shared that she did not have food in the house with which to feed her large family. Then the Lord provided for them through the food parcel. She was deeply moved and grateful.
As we went to give a food parcel to a certain lady she told us that she just came back from the river where she went to catch small fish. We saw small fish drying around her home. This was their only source of food. She was in great need and was ashamed that we should see in what condition her food supply was. The Lord provided for her by leading us to give her a food parcel without us knowing anything about her challenging circumstances.
Gerhard shares a testimony he witnessed:
“We were preparing to leave to the town Kakamas, 130km away to buy the second round of Project Joseph food parcels, when Tom* approached us. (Tom * visits us when he is nearby and he and his wife have befriended our family.) When he heard that we are going to Kakamas, he asked if we could not buy some groceries for him, giving us a list of the items after he carefully calculated if he would have enough money to buy it all.
As we drove off I experienced the Holy Spirit prompting me that we should buy the groceries for them through Project Joseph. At the store, while we got the groceries for different families, I again experienced that God wanted to me to buy a bit more than just the quantities that Tom* specified on the list.
We got home quite late that evening, so we only started to make up the food parcels the next morning.
When Tom* came by to pick up his groceries, we assembled all his items together on the table before him. We witnessed how he got quieter and quieter as he confusingly tried to count up the prices of all the items in front of him. I told him that I did not really checked the quantities, He protested and said,” I only ordered one of these and two of that”. I could see that he was greatly puzzled and worried that he would not be able to pay for all the groceries. I then shared with him about Project Joseph and how much God loves him and his family. He sat quietly for a while and we could see tears in his eyes as his emotions surged up in him. When he started to thank us, we said no he must not thank us, we are only the couriers, he must thank the Lord for His provision.
Later that day, Elmane got a WhatsApp message from his wife and I will quote it now (translated from Afrikaans): “Hi, my heart runs over today with joy for what you have come to bless us with. I do not know how to thank you and how to say thank you to the Master from above because He provided for our needs and because He, through Mr. Le Roux and his wife, worked to bless us beyond our expectations with the food. I told my husband last night, “I will not ask around for food. There is nothing in our food cupboard, but I know the Lord is going to provide.” This afternoon when I got home, there waited here for me a great blessing. Thank you so much for Mr. Le Roux and his wife’s contribution to putting food on our table. I will be forever grateful and today my faith only got stronger and stronger in the Lord, because I had an expectation towards Him and He blessed me above my expectations. Thanks again.”
Elmane shares how Project Joseph also blessed ladies working at the grocery store:
“Last week it was a blessing to go to town and buy the groceries for the food parcels. When we arrived at the grocery store, we asked some of the ladies working there to assist our daughters to collect the different items for the food parcels. Each one received a shopping list and they moved in a cheerful mood through the aisles to fill the trolleys. As they gathered the items, they shared with these ladies about Project Joseph. It was wonderful to see them cheerfully working through the grocery lists. At the checkout counter, the cashiers also assisted us to put through a large amount of groceries. Afterwards, they helped us to push the trollies to the pickup and trailer. We were really blessed by the cheerful assistance of the staff.
I also had the opportunity to share with one of the store’s supervisors how the Lord provided that we could buy the groceries for the needy. We talked about the increase in food prices that we experienced since the start of the Covid Pandemic. She shared how people in her community also struggle with the expensive prices. It blessed and encouraged her to hear about Project Joseph. My testimony also challenged her to make a difference in her community during this difficult time.
It was a great blessing to experience that Project Joseph is not only a blessing and impacting the lives of those who receive the food parcels, but also others like these ladies at the grocery store.”
In Conclusion
Project Joseph really makes a big impact in these people’s lives. They experienced the Lord’s love towards them in a new and meaningful way. It was a great opportunity to bless and encourage these recipients of the food parcels to serve the Lord. It was wonderful to assure them that if they continue to seek the Lord and to serve Him, it is nothing for Him to care even for their basic everyday needs.
How wonderful is it not that we serve a faithful God! He sees our needs and takes care of us in wonderful ways.
We will appreciate your prayers for these recipients of the Project Joseph food parcels. Please pray that the Lord may continue to work in their lives and open their eyes to His faithful love and care. We thank the Lord for granting us this great opportunity in which we can bring Christ to the people in a practical way.
Joseph was available so that God could work through him and use him to glorify His name during the difficult time of famine in Egypt. Currently, we are facing the difficult time of the Covid Pandemic. May we be available like Joseph so that the Lord may use us to bring hope and peace to the people around us.
May the Lord bless you and keep you all,
Gerhard, Elmane and Children
