you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to
teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will
hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’
whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21
you all and gratitude to our Father for your journey with us in 2012!!
C@therine and I returned to M@li in December 2011, we had no way of knowing
what the year 2012 would hold for HSI, for M@li, for the people we serve, for
those we serve alongside, or for us individually. This week as I look back and
take time to reflect and give thanks to our Father, I have come to understand
that this year…the year 2012 has been the year of suffering for M@li. It has
also been the year in which our Father has demonstrated His power, His Presence,
His Sovereignty, His grace, His mercy, and His unfailing love!
this week giving thanks to our Father, I felt compelled to expressed to G0d and
to you all how the sufferings of M@li lead us to sing a song of thanksgiving as
we look at some of the glimpses of G0d’s glory in 2012. We will sing this song
a little each day as we express our thanksgiving, pr@ise, and love for our G0d!
We
began 2012 KNOWING without doubt that M@li and her people were facing an unprecedented
famine across most of the country. We knew that only G0d could provide relief
and only God could satisfy! The famine was magnified and became even more
desperate as M@li experienced the C0up d’Et@t in March and the humanitarian
organizations, non-government organizations, and those who were planning to
help had to leave the country for a time.
G0d’s response and our Pr@ise: G0d answered
our cries to come back into M@li and demonstrated His unfailing love and
faithfulness to those who were hungry, fearful, and desperate. G0d ignited His
compassion in YOUR hearts and you gave exactly what we needed for the Gift of
Grain at just the right time to make the greatest difference in the lives of
those who were literally searching and asking “Where can I find food for my
family today?” God empowered the believers in B@ye to demonstrate His love and
provision through your financial support…G0d distinguished His people from all
other people by love and compassion in the time of suffering!
Further
pr@ise, G0d allowed C@therine and I to join with another organization to work
alongside and help distribute grain two times in v!llages where our friends and
co-laborers are serving. At a time when most were required to be out of M@li,
G0d allowed us to complete the work He had promised us to do.
more pr@ise, you pr@yed with us all this year for the rainy season and harvest
of 2012. Just this last week as we traveled back to one of the v!llages where
we distributed grain in May and August, my heart was amazed, filled with
gratitude and my eyes were filled with tears as I looked at the grain growing
and becoming ripe for harvest. As O and I were driving, I found myself saying
over and over to her, “Look at the harvest, it is white and ready! The heads of
grain are huge! Pr@ise be to G0d! He has heard us and He has answered!” This
year’s harvest is plentiful!!
Father, we thank you for your
f@ithfulness! We thank you that you finish what you start and that you don’t
forget your people in their suffering…as a matter of fact in our suffering your
show yourself in greater ways. Thank you that it is your desire for us to know
you, to see you, to believe you, to live with you—in good times, in bad times,
in easy times, and in hard times! Thank you Father for giving us a glimpse of
you through this time of hunger and famine! Thank you for choosing to use us to
demonstrate your unfailing love and f@ithfulness to the people of M@li so that
they too received a glimpse of your glory, your presence, and your power.