Remember the miraculous multiplication of the bread and fish Jesus performed to feed thousands of people? We have experienced a multiplication of our financial gifts to Ludlati for the building of a kitchen and fence that will be used to feed Ludlati! I received word from Childrens HopeChest that the government of Swaziland donated enough money to build two Carepoint kitchens. Ludlati is selected to receive one of these kitchens! The financial gifts we sent for the kitchen will be diverted toward installation of a well! We are so thankful and excited about this news. I thank God for everyone who gave out of the resources given to them. Thank You God for the compassionate gift from the government of Swaziland to Ludlati. Thank You God for the multiplied blessing on our Neighbor Kids at Ludlati Carepoint! Thank You God for letting us share in the joy of You and Your kingdom work! Sometime this summer the committed and compassionate Ludlati Gogos will have the facilities they need to efficiently feed the children. I look forward to seeing pictures of the new kitchen after it is built. I also look forward to our team of eight people planning to visit Ludlati in September to get a group picture with the Gogos and kids by the new kitchen.
Jesus disciples saw Him break the twelve loaves of bread and two fish to feed five thousand people. They saw Him break seven loaves to feed four thousand. Later that night the disciples saw Him walking on the water, and they freaked out. The disciples were baffled by the miracles and His words, and they struggled to figure out the meaning. Jesus stopped their discussion, and asked in Mark 8:21, “Do you still not understand?”. A few verses later in Mark 8:31 Jesus plainly explains to the disciples that he was going to suffer, be put to death and rise back to life again. Peter did not like this plan, and he tried to rebuke Jesus for saying such things. But Jesus wound up rebuking Peter as if he was Satan for trying to get in the way of God’s plan. Jesus knew they would not understand. They would not understand until they received the gift of Holy Spirit.
Fortunately for us, we have the Bible and Holy Spirit to give us insight and the opportunity to understand. Jesus helps us understand the deeper meaning behind the miracle feedings with the broken loaves of bread. In John 6:47-48 He tells us: “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.” Read the whole chapter, and we learn Jesus is the bread given to us from Heaven by God. He was broken for our sins, once for all, and He came back to life. Yesterday, Easter, is an annual reminder that after Christ died for our sins as full payment, He was resurrected to life to bring us life. Mark 8:34-35: 34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Do I understand? If I may include us all…Do we understand? I believe the gifts multiplied to Ludlati are His exciting miracle. He gets all the glory, and we are blessed to receive joy from life given through Him. Our Ludlati Gogos and Neighbor Kids are blessed with the same joy and with physical nourishment. Thank You Lord for teaching and giving all of us life both physical and eternal through fishes and loaves and kitchens and wells.
