The Haven Church team undertakes food distributions in Murphy Town, hearing stories from Hurricane Dorian survivors. As they see the contrast between painful pasts and inspiring faith, they are challenged, asking themselves how this can move them to action.
This Sunday started like many Sundays back home, a good sermon, some laughter afterward, and a delicious Sunday meal. Well, maybe blackened Grouper isn’t always served at Sunday lunch, but the time that followed lunch was definitely not a typical afternoon. Our team set off to distribute food, but the rice and grits were open doors to the greater lesson. Blessings, prayers of thanksgiving, stories of brokenness, and healing were exchanged openly and willingly, both from the Haven team and the people of Abaco. This is what Jesus does.
The afternoon plan consisted of meal distributions to ten families in need. The preparation for this event started prior to our group loading up the vans and heading out into the community of Murphy Town. It began with the relationship between Many Hands and the local community leadership, collaborating together to identify families in need. Derek and Tristan, our two Bahamian community leaders, invited us to join in their work to provide food and blessings to families still struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. A few weeks ago, Derek and Tristan selected the families and advised what food should be purchased. A few days after we arrived, our team went out and purchased the food and supplies that we would deliver. This morning we packed and loaded everything needed for the distribution. While we were preparing for this physically, God was preparing our hearts.
The first family that one of our groups visited was Ms Melanie. When we got there, she welcomed us into her house with open arms. She was so happy that we were there to see her. When we got into her house, we started to ask her some questions. She told us that she had lived there for 35 years. Then we asked where she was during the hurricane. She told us that she was at her friend’s house, relaying the whole story with a smile on her face because she was so happy that she was alive and well.
When she came back to her house, and all was basically gone, her daughter looked at her and remarked that their whole house was gone. But, Ms. Melanie said, “No, no, no, see four walls still standing, and we will praise God!”
Another family we visited was Ms Pleasant. During the hurricane, they hung onto a loader during the first part of the storm. They were exposed to the wind and rain, and she wrapped her coat over her kids’ heads to protect them. She prayed for 15 minutes of sunshine, and before she said amen, the sun came out so they could run to a better shelter. Her husband died during the storm and was swept away. After that experience, she still praised God, thankful for what she had, helping others in her community by distributing any food and clothing that she could gather. She showed us true faith. We came with food and left with hope and love.
These were two of the ten powerful stories that we encountered today. Our hearts are filled, heavy, and humbled by all the events, heartache, struggle, and faith we experienced in listening today. Please ask our group about our food distribution experience, as each team member can easily relay how they saw God in these interactions! We helped for a small amount of time today, but the intentionality, the community, and the joy we experienced will last much longer. The contrast between their painful past and their inspiring faith we pray will move us to action, to love and give sacrificially both here and at home.
