29 July   Not sure why the text never showed up when I posted this…here it is.

James 1:27-2:1

 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Yesterday was just another one of those days that I was reminded how much fun it really is to serve Gods people through Celebration Church. Obviously I am a huge believer in the power of the local church in the community as we band together in the name of Jesus and reach out to the lost and hurting, empowering everyone to put God first and foremost in their lives. In addition to feeding and ministering to the children we also do our best to lift up and empower the widows in the community.

Yesterday afternoon was our monthly Widows Tea, when we gather all the ladies together for tea and cakes as well as some fellowship time, testimonies  and sharing from the Word  by one of the Pastors. We recruit all of our staff pastors to come and serve the ladies just as a small gesture to honor them. Yesterday brought 30 of these incredible ladies, many of whom are real heros in my eyes. Losing a husband is a devastating situation no matter where you live but in Africa the culture can make these situations nearly unbearable. Not only do many of these ladies have little or no skills, they may also very likely be infected with HIV/AIDS brought home to them by their late husbands. These women have little and no “rights” in this culture and many times the husband family will arrive to take all the possessions as well as the home, throwing the wife and children out into the streets.

Listening to the testimonies from a couple of the ladies yesterday made me realize just how thankful to God I need to be each and every day for all He has done. One of the ladies talked about how grateful she was to God for bringing new customers for her business. Now mind you, her business is selling worms, spending her days digging to obtain her “product” and she was genuinely happy that she was able to make her living for her and her children in this manner. Another of the ladies was simply thankful to have Celebration Church in the lives of her and her children and  without that love and support she just could not have made it through. Lets remember  today and every day to be thankful for all that the Lord has done for us. No matter how bad your situation may seem to be, there’s always someone else who is likely in worse shape than you. Reach out beyond yourself today. You will be amazed at how very small your problems will seem when you stretch out a hand to another.  What an awesome God we serve. 

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