He Provides

When we first arrived at the camp in Pignon we were bombarded with kids constantly begging from us. They wanted our shoes, candies, paper, pencils; pretty much anything they could possibly think of asking for. This was difficult at first, because although we had brought some things with us to give away, we could hardly step outside without getting mobbed, and how could we decide who to give what? We also didn’t want to reinforce the idea that begging was okay. “Se Pabon pou ou mande pou tout bagay toujou,”(It’s not good for you to beg for everything all the time”) I said. “Mwen va bay moun nan ki pa mande”. (I will give to the person who doesn’t beg). This surprised the children at first, but they soon caught on and we were able to hand things out without them begging for it, in a much more discerning, orderly way.

Although we didn’t want them to ask for “things” all the time, we did want them to let us know when they were hungry. We really felt strongly about giving to those who were hungry and we felt as long as we had some food we would give it.

I remember way back, when I was a little girl and if I didn’t want to eat my dinner my Mom would say to me: “A little hungry boy or girl in Africa would love to eat that”. Since there were no hungry boys or girl outside waiting to eat my dinner, the lessons I needed to learn were that I must be thankful for what I have and not waste it. However, I always did wonder about those little hungry boys and girls. Who took care of them?

Now, although the lessons I want to teach Jayden are the same as the lessons my Mom taught me, in the village where we live the situation is a little different. Now, when Jayden is eating his meals, there are hungry little boys and girls waiting outside.

Almost every morning, Jayden has peanut butter on little cubes of bread for breakfast. The bread here is flat, about 3 inches thick and can be broken into 1 inch cubes. When Jayden is done, we take whatever cubes are left and divide them up for the kids playing outside. Just like I needed to learn to be thankful for what I have, and not waste it, so does Jayden. In this situation, rather then making him eat all his food when he feels full, I can teach him the value of food by sharing it with other kids who have less and value it highly.


Although Jayden is still young (only 20 months old), he’s a bright little boy and catches on pretty quick. Now, he tries to make sure there are always some bread cubes left on his plate, so he can share. I’ve had to start making a little extra in the morning, just so he doesn’t lose weight!

Besides sharing Jayden`s breakfast, we also give food to whatever child comes and says they are hungry. At first, I didn’t think we would possibly have enough food to give to every hungry child that would come, but the amazing thing is that the entire time we were in the village we always had something to give, not once did we run out. We didn’t start a soup kitchen, or buy loads of extra food at the market, but somehow we never ran out of food. Looking back now, I can see that it wasn’t us, but rather God who was providing for the needs of these children. Now I know Who is looking out for them!