For many of our workers, as Covid-19 began to ravage their countries of service, they found themselves as one of the few people in their community who were able to provide for their families. These workers immediately began efforts to fundraise and provide vital needs for their community to survive. One of these families is the Humphrey Family.
The Humphrey family, serving in El Salvador has many things to be thankful for this past month. Through their partnerships with individual supporters, Team Expansion, and Owensboro Christian Church they were able to make close to 1,250 bags of food, soaps, and disinfectants. In El Salvador, Covid-19 left many with nothing. These bags have allowed 5,000 people to have meals, soap to wash their clothes and hands, and bleach for disinfectant and to clean their water.
This month, the Humphreys were able to share a few encouraging stories from their efforts:
One woman shared how her last dollars went to help pay for a community sprayer and disinfectant. She had no idea how they were going to pay for groceries, but without the community being disinfected she would be unable to leave for fear of the virus spreading. She was in tears when we brought her family food and needed essentials.
Another elderly woman cried because she had not had eggs in a few weeks and she prayed for God to send her some. That weekend we had been able to purchase a large number of eggs from another missionary. No one knew that eggs were a part of the packet and she praised Jesus for the miracle of a few eggs in her hands.
An 81-year-old woman walked 2 miles to reach us for a bag of supplies. She was one of the last to come and it allowed the team to drive her back home. On the way, she asked if we had anything to spare for her other family who, just like her, had nothing in their homes. The people who receive bags of food are prearranged by community leaders and churches to properly distribute the food. However, the Lord provided and a few items were quickly put together for them. She cried tears of joy and praised the Lord for the provision and so did we!
While these times aren’t easy, it’s encouraging to see God using them for His glory. God is creating new partnerships and forming new relationships. He is reminding His children that He can and will provide for them, even when it seems impossible. We are thankful for families like the Humphreys who are on the ground being the hands and feet. And we are thankful for the creative ways all of our workers are still reaching their communities, even when they can’t leave their homes.
