November 10, 2023 By Nana Fatuma Katembo
I have seen and testified that this one is God’s son. John 1:34 (CEB)
WEST ANGOLA – This verse in John has helped me understand the journey of the Bomjesus community and myself as a missionary. The Bomjesus community is full of small-scale farmers and almost every family survives through subsistent farming, though they lack essential seeds, farming supplies and training to learn new farming techniques. They used to manage what was on their lands by doing the same archaic farming practices, each family on their own, without working to improve their community.
In Bomjesus, I find talented, fast learners; women who are open to any good thing that can help them improve their community life, but they did not think about that until God placed me in their midst to help them use their hidden talents for everyone’s benefit.
The women here taught me that when people of God come together and seek God’s help, the impact can be big and positive. These women received some grant money and instead of buying food and seeds, I advised them to buy land to start producing, but in my heart, I admit my intention was to alleviate my own workload. If they were all farming plots on the same land, I could teach them there and distribute farm inputs in one place instead of going from one field to the next, over and over again, never sufficiently meeting every family’s needs. I thought to bring them together to help myself, not knowing that God had this plan all along.
