January 11
Scripture: Josh 1:9
Source author: Alyssa Santos
January 11
Finding Love in an African Slum Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:9
I could barely see the woman in the dark corner of the hovel she called home. She had no water, power, or comforts besides a cot, a tiny coal firepot, and a couple of boxes to sit on. Only days before, my four healthy children surrounded me in our spacious, well-loved home. Now, across the ocean and in a world that might have been on another planet, I sat in a squalid African hut watching a woman dying of AIDS struggle for each breath. On the plane ride to Ethiopia, doubts had plagued my thoughts. What are you doing leaving your children for two weeks? Why go all the way to Africa to help the poor? Why you? For this exact moment, answered a voice in my spirit. I crossed the room, held her hand, and, bending near, whispered life-giving Scripture. In that moment love was as elemental to life as breath. Love is extending my hand, sharing a prayer, and, sometimes, leaving all I’ve ever known to find what I truly have to give.
When you go to unfamiliar places, you will discover opportunities to share love you never knew you had to give. — Alyssa Santos —