February 2021 Newsletter



Five Loaves
“Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gazed into heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread and the two fish and distributed them to his disciples to serve the people – and the food was multiplied in front of their eyes! Everyone had plenty to eat and was fully satisfied.”
— Mark 6:41-42 (Passion Translation)
God Multiplies Food
In the early 2000s, a friend asked me “Why don’t we see God’s miracles today?” Well, I want to give an example of God still performing miracles in our time. In Liberia, most of the cooking is still done on an open charcoal stove. Preparing a meal can take hours, so we employ a local woman to cook for us. When it is just the family, she cooks every other day. Even with visitors, the food is sufficient.
When we have the construction workers here, we can feed 12-15 people every day — excluding the visitors. Since rice is a staple food in Liberia, we can use six bags of 50 pounds of rice a month!
One day, our cook had an emergency and couldn’t come to work, but she didn’t tell us until 11:30. I had some ‘soup’ in the freezer (Soup consists of fish/chicken/meat and greens/some kind of vegetable) but it was only enough for 6-8 people. I considered adding oil to thin the soup, but would that be enough for 15 people?
In faith, I cooked the rice and heaped it unto the plates. As I added the stew from the pot, something strange happened. It seemed the amount did not lessen. I added even a generous portion to each plate. Everyone had plenty to eat and was satisfied! In the natural, it would not have been possible to feed the whole crew and family; there simply was not enough.
God was multiplying the stew right before my eyes! This has happened more than once. We have never been short on food.
Love in Action
Another time, all the workers had their lunch and we had some left over for the family to eat at dinnertime. That evening our foreman asked us for an evening meal, which normally he would provide on his own. We do provide their main meal, but not two meals a day.
I said to Caleb, “There is not enough food.” He said, “Just add oil and give him something.” I made a plate for him and then went to my room to pout. I looked out the window of my bedroom and saw the foreman bring the dish over to the wall around our compound.
He called over to the neighbor and gave her half of his meal. He was willing to share what little he had to someone who had nothing. I broke down and cried when I saw his generosity. That was love in action! I promised God at that moment that I would have a more grateful heart and be willing to share when I saw the need.
So yes, God still performs miracles today! He still provides and He is always faithful. This was not an isolated incident; God always provided what was needed. I just give God thanks and watch Him work.