Boxes of Blessings

Have you ever had to go without eating a meal not because you wanted to, but because you had to? My heart is so heavy today just thinking of the children and families in Venezuela right now that are struggling to just live day to day. Many going without one or two meals a day or only eating one or two meals a week. How spoiled are we as a nation that we have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and who knows how many snacks we have in between those. Food is readily available to most here. This Boxes of Blessings Ministry is LIFE GIVING ministry. Not only does this food that we send sustain life physically, but as they hear of Jesus and who He is and how much He loves them they learn of Eternal Life through Salvation. That should make you want to SHOUT! Go ahead, Praise JESUS because HE is providing every need for this ministry. He is moving in the hearts of HIS people to give. Churches are giving food and money to help pay shipping to send the food. Now we have a shipping company that is giving us a discount to ship Boxes of Blessings which will make a BIG impact on how much we can now send.

This is not just some give and say I did my part kind of ministry. This is one that you get "Heartbroken" for. My heart is Broken for the people of Venezuela. My sweet friend Maria Luisa has all of her family there. I try and imagine how I would feel if my family was there and going without food. What would I do, how would I feel? Heartbroken. I see Maria Luisa and her husband Valentin Chun, who pastors La Cruz Church in Lenoir City reaching out and sharing the story of what is happening in Venezuela. This is their family. This is their community. This is their church. We have an obligation as followers of Christ to help our neighbors and spread the Gospel of Christ to all the world. How are we spreading the Gospel you ask? Every shipment of food that we send is prepared, packed and shipped AFTER it is prayed over. Once the shipment arrives in Venezuela they are providing big meals at the church for the community that is starving. They are sharing the Gospel of Jesus to those that "Come & Eat". They even go beyond the city to the dumps were families live. They cook beans, rice and bread and transport it by an old truck to the dump. They set up a tent, Share Jesus and pray with the families.

JESUS IS BEING GLORIFIED through this ministry. It goes beyond what we can ever imagine. We may not ever know the impact we make by faithfully sending food, toiletries and Bibles. We will know when we get to Heaven! Oh how wonderful to be part of such a wonderful ministry that is reaching so many with the word of Jesus and helping to feed them spiritually and physically. It may be Life or death for many, but through Jesus it will be Life. As you go through your day today I pray that you become more aware of how blessed you are. Will you make an effort to think about and pray for the families of Venezuela? Will you allow God to speak to your heart and show you how He can use you in this ministry? There are many ways to get involved. Will you be obedient to what He calls you to do? I pray that God MOVES in miraculous ways to connect the hearts of our people in the Loudon County Baptist Association to the hearts of the people in Venezuela.

Prepare yourself to be Broken. Heartbroken. Seeing a need and meeting that need is how He is using the LCBA. Join us as we TRUST in the vision that Jesus has given and the ministry He has provided for. We can make a difference! I know that I will not set idle while people...little children are dying and going without when I have a full pantry and stomach. Will you?

Blessings today,

Teresa Wood