There were no needy ones among them…
Recently we finished a home/room restoration project Jessica and I had been wanting to find a way to do for sometime. As some of you may know by now, Josefa was our cleaning lady at the project/our home for some years before the Isaiah Ministry ended at the close of 2019. In August of last year Josefa and her husband Baruc were born again after many years of sharing and praying for them! Praise God! And what a transformation we have seen in them and their family since then! We asked Josefa to come back and work with us again after she was born again, but this time things were very different. Now we had a true spiritual sister in our home 3 days a week and we were so elated when Josefa’s mother in law Danelia came to the Lord a few months later in November! And the Lord wasn’t done yet! In March of this year Josefa’s oldest daughter also decided to giver her life to the Lord and get born again as well! You can see a few pictures of the baptisms below; sadly we didn’t get a picture of Baruc and Priscilla’s baptisms.
It had always been a burden on our hearts knowing the living conditions in which Josefa and her family lived; 6 people in one little room with a dirt floor and roof filled with holes. However, since their living situation was always so unstable before they coming to Christ we never felt that we could really do much because we knew they could be kicked out at any moment or the family could break-up due to conflict. So, Baruc, Josefa, and Danelia getting born again really changed things and we began praying and talking about how we needed to do something.
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
This past year the verse above and others in the New Testament about truly loving one another and doing what is necessary to make sure everyone’s basic needs are met in the body of Christ have really spoken to me and hit me hard. This is something I haven’t really seen much of in my life in the church; not that the church in large isn’t participating in works of charity and good will, but actually taking care of each other in the family of God and doing what is necessary to make sure everyone has food on the table, roof over their head, and bed to sleep in . . . not so much. This is something I have wanted to not only see but participate in. The poor will always be among us and we always want to do what we can when we can to provide for them, but amongst our own brethren we have brothers and sisters struggling to make ends meet. Beginning last year we really felt that we needed to begin focusing on meeting the physical needs of the family of God first; and we actually feel that this is biblical and the plan of God! Jesus says that the world will know to whom we belong by how well we love each other in the body of Christ. Wow! It’s not about our ministries, amazing prayers, church services, or how we talk . . . it’s all about love! Real love! Love that is sacrificial and self-denying!
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We had already helped Josefa and Baruc patch their roof so many times that it was un-patchable by now and there was really no way to improve their little room so we decided to go ahead and do a full restoration with the help with funds provided by another beloved sister in our family. Slowly but surely the room came together and after a few weeks, just before the rains really began to fall, we finished the room and for the first time in her lifetime Josefa told me that she was able to sleep peacefully during the rain because she knew that her room was structurally sound.
Over the years I’ve been a part of many other projects in which we did our best to care for the needs of the poor around us; rebuilding homes, re-roofing homes, building walls, bathrooms and much more. However, this time it was more special to me because I know that the family who lives in this room loves the Lord and wants to live for Him with all they are. In Christ we really are one family and in the family of God all are important and loved by the King.
Thank you for helping us make this home/room restoration for Josefa, Baruc, and their 4 kids! It’s still the 6 of them living in one room, but at least the room they are in is not protected against the weather, intruders, and whatever else may come their way!
Bless you all and keep shining bright for JESUS!
