Empty Cupboards

This week is a hard week for many in the church. As businesses and shops shut for weeks at a time over the Christmas season, the employees find themselves with no pay during the holidays, and cupboards are literally bare. We have been giving out food parcels with rice and other staples to try and help see people through this period.

We found ourselves in the position of having to empty our own cupboards one evening, after finding one of our youth had not eaten since the previous day, but the shops were shut. He had been out working in the fields for 12 hours on an empty stomach, but with no pay until the end of the week he was facing the prospect of another 2 days without food. Please pray for him and his family. His brother has just been sent to prison for a stabbing, and with both parents alcoholic, he is carrying a heavy burden at the moment. We are trying to encourage him to buy food for the week out of his wages to ensure the family will have enough to eat. His name is Marthinus.