A Blessing of Food for the Hungry

The Lord has shown you what is good.  He has told you what He requires of you.
You must act with justice.
    You must love to show mercy.
And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.
_{Micah 6:8 (NIRV)}

Amina smiles as she is informed of the delivery of the food parcel.Amina didn’t always live a life of quiet desperation. But a series of tragedies including the death of her husband, followed closely by the death of her only daughter, left her widowed and caring for a young granddaughter. Her circumstances worsened immeasurably when her diabetic condition resulted in the amputation of her leg. This left her nearly immobilized, in constant pain and unable to work to provide for herself and her grandchild.

Hidden with Christ Ministries was introduced to Amina when she was in desperate need of seeing a doctor but had no money to pay for medical services or medicine. It had been a full year since the amputation of her leg, and she had never had a follow-up medical appointment. The original surgical stitches remained in the stump of her leg, ingrown, irritating, itchy, and robbing her of sleep, night after night.

HWCM paid for the follow-up medical care, suture removal and medicine, then purchased crutches, a wheelchair, and a portable toilet chair to make her life a bit easier. Up to that point, she was dragging herself along the floor or asking a neighbor to carry her to the toilet. When Christmas came around, and a generous church from the USA provided money to purchase food parcels as a Christmas blessing for the needy, we thought of Amina. Delivering a food parcel of 22 pounds of rice, 22 pounds of beans and a large jug of cooking oil was an unexpected blessing that thrilled Amina’s heart and filled a genuine need in her life.

Hidden with Christ Ministries’ “Rehema Projects” are aimed at fulfilling the Biblical injunction found in Micah 6:8 “…You must love to show mercy…”  The Kiswahili word REHEMA means mercy. Showing mercy to the poor and needy is something that pleases God.

But it also brings happiness to the one who is merciful to the poor as stated in Proverbs 14:21. So, if you are feeling down or depressed – take this Biblical prescription - Give to the poor!

 … happy [blessed and favored by God] is he who is gracious and merciful to the poor. (Proverbs 14:21b Amplified Bible)

In addition, God promises to reward the person who shows mercy and kindness to the poor because God considers it a “personal loan” to Him!

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward them for what they have done. (Proverbs 19:17 NIV)

Margreth with her two daughters in their home in Moshi.Another recipient of the Christmas food parcels was a widow named Margreth. She lives with her two school-aged daughters, Gillian and Glory in a tiny home in Moshi, Tanzania. Margreth has struggled to provide for her daughters since she lost her husband. She had a small food business which she conducted at the main bus station in Moshi town, but local police drove her away when she was unable to pay a bribe to be allowed to remain. Then she became very ill and was unable to work at all. Hidden with Christ Ministries paid for her medical care, and she was recovering when we delivered the Christmas food parcel to the family. For them, that food gift appearing out of nowhere, felt like a miracle!

There are endless needs in the nation of Tanzania, and our Rehema Projects just scratch the surface of relieving the hardships there. But like the story of the boy who was seen throwing starfish back into the sea, (shared on page 2) it made a difference to each one that was helped. We invite you to donate to our REHEMA PROJECTS and make a difference in the lives of just one family or just one person in Tanzania. Click here to donate.