WE WERE HUNGRY AND YOU FED US

January 28, 2022

By Edwin Kee

Remember how we were tasked to write a story from the perspective of an object? “Aku sebatang pen” proved to be one of the most common titles in primary school, where you chronicled your life as a pencil – from the factory to the schoolbag. Some of the more imaginative scribes had a rather tragic ending as the pen ended up in the dustbin, broken and discarded.

Many of you gave generously to Project HOPE during the Christmas season, but do you know how far and wide your hard-earned ringgit has travelled?

Veronica (not her real name), a single mother of five, hails from Borneo. Her husband left her many years ago, leaving her to fend for herself and her little ones. She stays in a spartan low-cost flat. A well-worn Alkitab takes a prominent place on her bookshelf, alongside other dog-eared books that her children handed down to the other.

“Life is really hard. People here ostracise me simply because I am a single mother, and there is pressure to gain welfare aid from the authorities if I were to give up my faith,” Veronica spoke as her eyes shifted to her children. “I have to work two jobs just to make sure my children have enough food to eat, and even then, meat is a luxury for us. Most of the time, we only have rice sprinkled with soy sauce, and a fried egg.” Her eyes welled up as she shared her predicament.

We were interrupted by her eldest child trying to calm the youngest daughter. “Pastor,” Veronica addressed Pastor James, “Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing Christ’s love with us, with these gifts of essential goods. It will satisfy the childrens’ hunger for a while more as I pray to God to open a way for me to get a better paying job.”

Through your generous giving, the food that Veronica received that day bought her enough time for her to find a job that helped her family live better. While life continues to be a struggle, Veronica now has hope for brighter days ahead, as she holds on tenaciously to her faith, in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our Jehovah Jireh.

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Thank you, PJEFC, for reflecting Christ in your words, actions, and prayers.