The least of these

We recently received a call from a friend of ours who needed help with a situation. A young boy had been stopping by the lodge where she works, asking for food and money every few days. He was always dirty, his stomach extended, and sores covered his body. She and the other workers would give him something to eat, or a few metical (our currency), but she wanted to know what to do to help him more.

Scott took some of the disciples to visit him this week to find out more about his situation, and see what we could do to help.



He's an orphan who used to live with his grandmother, but now lives with his elderly aunt and uncle.

He doesn't know how old he is.

He doesn't go to school.

His body is covered with sores, his clothes worn and tattered.

He's malnourished.

His hands and feet are infested with tiny worms that live in the sand until they find away to burrow their ways into your hands and feet.

The situation is serious. So serious, in fact, that he has to go to the hospital this week to be treated.

In dealing with this young boy, I was reminded of the passage in Matthew 25. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . .for whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

As we move into Thanksgiving week, we all have so much to be thankful for. But there are people like this young boy living around us. And it doesn't matter where we live. They are lonely from divorce or the lost of a spouse. They are discouraged--worn and tattered--after losing a job, They are scared because they don't know what the future holds.

The world around us might seem unstable, but "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when the earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea." Psalm 46:1-2 (NLT)

Be a blessing to someone today,

Lisa

Visit TheECHOProject.org to find out how you can make a difference here in Africa.