Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to share with the Dorcas Ladies and walked away from that feeling so blessed that I just have to share it with you.
The Dorcas ladies are a group of ladies from various churches within the Church of the Nazarene denomination who take it on themselves to serve the vulnerable in their local communities. They don’t have much themselves and are often elderly, but sacrificially give of themselves to those who need help. They feed and care for the sick, elderly, widowed and orphaned while often not having much in their own homes.
We planned a special day for the Dorcas ladies. It was a small way for us to bless them by sharing with them and cooking a meal for them.
Sharing God’s Word with the Dorcas ladies
Once they had all arrived, I started the day with them by sharing from God’s Word. Often, I find myself intimidated by situations like this. I don’t feel like I am worthy to share God’s Word with ladies who give so much. This has often challenged me in the past when I am called on to share from the Bible. It feels like many of these women are closer to God and less sinful than I am and I lose confidence. But most of the previous week I had spent time in God’s Word, seeking for a Word from God’s heart to share with these women. God gave me a Word and this gave me the confidence I needed to share it with the ladies.
Valuable tips
The night before Michael also gave me some useful tips and advice which I put into practice and found very helpful. He suggested that I start by giving them opportunity to introduce themselves to me and they really appreciated that. Another valuable suggestion was that I tell them a story about myself to break the ice and it was obvious that they loved that. Slowly but surely I am learning and gaining confidence.
God’s Measure of Gifts
For my Bible talk there were two passages God laid on my heart. The first passage was from Isaiah 58 where God speaks about the type of “fast” that pleases him. It is not abstaining from food and wearing sackcloth that pleases God, but rather caring for the poor and hungry. Isaiah 58 reminded me of the passage in Luke 21:1-4 where Jesus sits in the temple and compares the bountiful gifts of the rich to the pitiful copper pennies of the widow. Jesus said that the widow gave more in her two copper pennies than the rich gave because she gave everything she had. I felt like this would be something the Dorcas ladies could relate to. They were giving the little they had to serve others and show the love of Jesus. Jesus sees this as a bigger gift than lots of money and big gifts.
Moringa
During the Bible talk I also gave them a gift of Moringa seed. We did a demonstration on how to germinate it and how to use it. Most of them know about the Moringa tree but they don’t really know how to use it. I gave them a quick rundown on the value and uses of the tree and some ideas on how to prepare it. This was something physical which I tied to the Bible lesson by pointing out that this small and seemingly insignificant seed had all this value packed into it. In the same way, they may think that their actions of serving in the community is small and insignificant, but God sees the greater value in that.
Pumpkin Fritters for Lunch
After hearing from God’s Word, Ronelle and Debbé gave them a cooking lesson on making pumpkin fritters. They have many pumpkins here but they don’t have any recipes to prepare the pumpkin in a more creative way. Most of them just boil the pumpkin. We showed them how to make the fritters and then they got to taste the fritters for lunch with Nshima and fish relish.
Fellowship and Friendship
After lunch we sang and danced together and then sat down with them to ask about their needs. I was so challenged when I heard about many of their struggles. They serve wholeheartedly while many of them are sickly and struggling. I want to help them in a more meaningful way and will be spending more time with them, getting to know them and finding out how I can help and support them in their ministry to the vulnerable in their communities.
