- Give more.
- Hope more.
- Pray more.
- Dream more.
Elizabeth married young and was widowed within the decade. She was left with five children and the AIDS virus.
Living with that disease – and in poverty – makes her and her family even more vulnerable to pneumonia, malaria, tuberculoses and other infections.
For almost eight years now, she has fought to maintain her health and her purity, desperate to provide for her family.
Unfortunately, in a region of the world that is being devastated by the AIDS virus, becoming a widow is not uncommon. And just as in Biblical and Roman times, unless a relative comes to her aid, a widow’s future in Kenya is bleak. Thankfully, these women are starting to band together in fellowship if not in cooperation with each other, but there is otherwise very little hope for them.
Some widows in the Lake Victoria region catch minnows to dry and sell as bait. Others gather firewood to sell. A lucky few are crafty with their hands and make baskets or jewelry to sell. But – more often than not, unfortunately – most widows supplement their income by selling their bodies.
I was in tears as Elizabeth shared her story with me. I sat beside her on the couch to hug her and pray. She clung to me and wailed to the Lord. I didn’t understand the words, but the tone was unmistakable! I prayed for God’s tender mercies to fall upon her, for healing in the name of Jesus, and for continued provision and blessings.
Elizabeth was finally “inherited” by her late husband’s brother. Even though this is not an ideal situation – especially for believers – polygamy is common and a legitimate means of protection/provision. Belonging technically to a man means she is less at risk of being propositioned by other men. And that helps to reduce the spread of AIDS.
Unfortunately, this man also has another wife and six children with her. And that’s a lot of mouths to feed and school fees to pay.
Pray for PEACE in their homes.
* * * * *
Lorna is 29 years old. She was widowed three years ago. Now she lives alone with her 10 year old daughter.
Her late husband’s brother tried to inherit her – at the mother-in-law’s insistence. But he was also still young and newly married (to a different wife), so when Lorna asked to be released from that arrangement, he agreed.
Lorna and her daughter are both HIV negative – Hallelujah!
And she tests herself often to prove to her in-laws and potential suitors that she is clean. Lorna has many potential suitors because she is strong, smart, and very beautiful. She insists that they get tested too before they have any relations together, and since they always refuse, she has managed to maintain her purity. In this way, Lorna is setting a good example for her daughter and other widows in the community.
Lorna used to have a lucrative cloth-selling business. However, she recently spent a lot of her savings on the construction of her home and on taking care of a sick sister, and now she doesn’t have enough capital to start-up again. Meanwhile, she catches minnows to dry and sell as bait. Often, it is not enough to put food on the table, there is always a lot of love in their home.
* * * * *
Women are seen as property in this culture, so without a husband, the future looks bleak. Widows resign themselves to being inherited. Fortunately,
SEEK and local churches are reaching out to these women, encouraging them to continue to depend completely on the Lord.He offers us the nations as our inheritance (in Psalm 2:8), and we’re out on this mission trip claiming land and people for the Kingdom. So, I hereby claim these widows as part of my inheritance! God, father them, love them, redeem them, and enlarge your Kingdom through them!
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I hear so many of us asking the Lord to make us like him… Here is an opportunity for all of us to continue with the leaving our “comfort” zone, with its goodies such as: soda pop, chips, candy bars, recreation, etc.. and give to these widows. James said it confirms our religion as true and pure from Father God in heaven. God help me to give a soda up for a widow. I figure a soda a day equals $1.39 for each soda times 30 days = $41.70. Lord, help me to do it to the least of these….whether it is directly or to the ministry helping them.
Thanks…
Hi Seth.
I gave some additional thought to your question about living radically in a comfortable world and it seems to be the name actually defines the problem. So many of us have been saturated with our wants and Christian points of comparison that we have forgotten the hard verses of the Bible. Beware when everyone thinks highly of you. If you want His glory you have to share in His suffering. Unless a morsel of wheat falls into the ground and dies there cannot be life. Humble yourself before the Lord. Give what you have away. You know scripture well enough to know the ethic in the New Testament.
I have been guilty in the past of running “over to the unlovely” and then running back to tell people about the need and in some cases pretending to be making a difference. It’s the back and forth in ones heart that is too much “Laodicean”. It’s taking one part of the crucifixion without the whole.
I for one want to find a home and community where the people are anchored to the painful place of ministry.
If we are called to take up a cross every day one would think that’s not just poetic language.
Appreciate you.
Thanks for this reminder of why I like to sponsor children of widows. It protects them financially and I pray for Our Lord to protect them physically. Why is it in some cultures that a man won’t protect a woman unless they are getting something out of the relationship? Christians need to be bold and teach them that polygamy is not what is best. For one it spreads HIV when not everyone is infected. I tell my girls I sponsor don’t marry anyone who won’t agree to only be married to them and no other women. Put it in their marriage vows. There is a charity that enables me to learn about the family situations of the children I sponsor and correspond with them, send financial gifts and this particular charity helps with medicine for sponsored children and their family members that are HIV positive to fight HIV through their HIV fund.