When word of pandemic-related lockdowns first reached us, it seemed for a moment that many of our partners’ ministries would grind to a halt. Schools that were the main point of contact with needy families would be closed. Churches wouldn’t be able to gather.
Home visits were prohibited. While we in the States quickly pivoted to move our work, churches, home groups and schools online, that wasn’t an option for many around the world.
But as we look back at what has happened since this time last year, there can be no doubt that our partners were busier than ever with unexpected opportunities to share the Good News with new groups of people during the pandemic!
Quickly, the situation became dire for those making just enough each day to buy food for dinner that night. People needed food and they needed hope - both of which were in extremely short supply.
Governments wouldn’t allow churches to meet, but they would allow people to hold things like hand-washing clinics, and a Gospel message could be included.
ITMI’s role became clear: help our partners make the most of these God-orchestrated opportunities. Project Joseph was born.
Since the inception of Project Joseph, we’ve distributed over $150,000USD that was specifically earmarked for sharing the Gospel through food distribution outreaches.
Impoverished or hurting families in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Sudan, India, Pakistan, Poland, Romania and Moldova have been exposed to the Gospel and reached with the provision of food.
Our partners involved the local church or other local para-church groups in these outreaches, ensuring that God’s people were on-hand to offer themselves for redemptive and discipleship relationships.
Though temporary and fleeting food was a crucial part of Project Joseph, the project was, from its beginning, about lasting impact.
One of the first Project Joseph distributions was done by Charl van Wyk and his project leader, Pastor Vuyo. Vuyo is an ex-gangster who planted a church in a tough and impoverished neighborhood.
As he and his church made Project Joseph visits to deliver food, they found that many of those who didn’t make salvation decisions right away responded eagerly to the food parcel, the visit from the believers and their Gospel message. Many expressed interest in a relationship with Vuyo’s church.
ITMI’s Lazarus Yezinai, in South Sudan, reported that a group of three ladies who were taking care of 6 children who were orphaned during the war of 2016 were convinced by the love in action and the message of the Gospel they experienced through Project Joseph to bring their children to church so that they could grow in Christ.
In the impoverished settlement of Stone Hill, South Africa, Charl’s project leader, Olga Tshikovhi, observed an exciting seed planted.
“One lady who isn’t a Christian at all,” Olga writes, “volunteered to help our ministry in Stone Hill last year during the COVID-19 pandemic and she is still helping today. We reached out to her and we are slowly seeing the progress, she even joined our evening church service.”
The children of ITMI’s Casa Dorca Children’s Home in the remote village of Prilipet, Romania were involved in the purchasing, preparing and delivering of food parcels to impoverished families in their rural area. Some of them even offered to contribute to the cause from their meager allowances.
Casa Dorca Director, Ionel Lovescu, wrote, “I saw tears in our kids’ eyes when they saw the poor conditions all around that the families had [in the needy Romanian village]. Some of our children reached out and recognized how blessed they are to be part of the ministry that is Casa Dorca.”
Ionel also observed that many of the Casa Dorca children were shocked by the extremely poor conditions that all of the families lived in. He says, “Some of them told me that they remembered and even knew what it was like because they had the same conditions at their homes,” before coming to Casa Dorca.
Ionel encouraged them to share what they know about Jesus. Though many were timid to do so, this first experience in sharing the Gospel with impoverished families they don’t yet know, may be the first of many, serving as a learning experience that can be built upon when future opportunities arise.
Lazarus, too, involved children from his church in the preparations for his hand-washing clinics, giving them the opportunity to participate in the sharing of the Gospel and serving of others at a young and formative age.
Project Joseph has also helped our partners and the local believers demonstrate how the body of Christ cares for one another by making sure that pastors were not forgotten.
Project Joseph has helped many of the Lord’s servants and shepherds, who faced dire situations during the pandemic.
This was a necessary demonstration of how the body of Christ cares for one another and that the Lord honors His servants who are faithful. It also helped ensure these shepherds could continue encouraging and leading their flocks for the advancement of the Kingdom.
David Kumar writes that the pastors helped said,
“Our churches are small and the believers are poor, the collection of the offerings are few hundred rupees (100 rupees = $1.34 USD), now due to lockdown we are unable to pay our house rents, electricity bills and unable to buy medicine even. The donation you have blessed us with will help us to pay house rent or pay electricity bill or buy medicine.”
He also told us of Grace and Gloria, two grown daughters of a faithful Indian pastor, Nathaniel, who died when the girls were young. A few years ago, Grace was widowed and became a single mother when her husband was killed in a train accident.
Gloria is also single, but these two Christian women have been faithful to serve the Lord even during difficult circumstances. The Project Joseph provision that they were given was much cause for rejoicing and honoring the Lord. It helped them carry on their father’s ministry.
ITMI’s Paul and Molly, too, made sure needy pastors in India were cared for through Project Joseph food parcels. These pastors feel overlooked and forgotten, but the food parcels go a long way to communicate God’s care for them, strengthen their marriages and keep them serving their marginalized and persecuted flocks.
ITMI would like to keep providing our partners with funds to continue doing Project Joseph outreaches.
Our partners are risking exposure and working tirelessly to reach the hurting with the Gospel. But in order to keep funding these outreaches, we need faithful partners who are willing to step forward in faith and stand beside our partners in equal sacrifice. The impact is immeasurable and the rewards are great.
Another way Project Joseph has been instrumental in lasting impact has been aiding the local Body of Christ in demonstrating the Gospel they are declaring.
Stepping out in faith and risking their own well-being to demonstrate the love of Christ to their neighbors became a stepping stone on the journey to Christ-likeness for many.
In Stone Hill, the Project Joseph outreaches provided growth opportunities for young men from the Soldiers for Christ. Olga wrote,
“When our Project Joseph vegetable garden started to supply our soup kitchen with fresh, ‘homegrown’ vegetables, we decided to bring some young men from Stone Hill to come and learn, help, and earn. Siwaphiwe (18-year-old Soldier for Christ) immediately volunteered to help.
Our young men have been volunteering a couple of days a month. We advised them to use their hard-earned stipends wisely, to tithe, and to also save.”
Siwaphiwe learned well. From his meager, hard earned funds, he gave to the Lord’s work, saved his money and made a few responsible purchases, such as a school uniform.
Olga explains,
“In our context and culture nobody cares if your product, service or story is great; people care about whether you are trustworthy or not….and Project Joseph made it possible to build relationships with those we might never have otherwise met – the servanthood of those ministering through this project spoke volumes in terms of “trust”!
