Mai Esther and her orphaned grandchildren came to church one Sunday after being invited by Lamek, one of our house parents who had met them at the market. Lameck’s heart was filled with compassion for this family. The children wore rags – Lamek covered their nakedness by giving them clothes from the Iris Africa store room.

Mai Esther has lived a horrific life. Her late husband was mentally unstable and before he died had chopped off her left arm with a machete. With an aging body and one arm, Mai Esther tries her best to provide food for her grandchildren. But where does she go? The maize she planted in her field was completely destroyed by the drought. She has no job, no money, and little strength. She has an adult son who is very sick with TB and suffering. Her grandchildren have become the breadwinners of the family. In desperation, instead of going to school, they assist a local brick maker. The children take the molded bricks and place them to dry in the sun. Then, once dried they stack them in preparation for burning. They are also used to help load the burnt bricks onto trucks. They do all this for 100 Malawi Kwacha per day. That’s less than 65 cents. The children are 6, 8 and 10 years old. They all participate in this and as a result, have no opportunity to go to school. This is no life for a young child but unfortunately, is not uncommon.
When we gave Mai Esther a box of food we gathered around, laid hands on the food, and asked the Lord for a miracle. We prayed that, similar to the widow who experienced a miracle of multiplication of oil after the word from Elisha, this food would always provide enough for the family.

After 2 ½ weeks, the Lord prompted us to go and visit them again. Upon our arrival, we heard that the food had just emptied the day before. We brought with us more food to give to them and they rejoiced and praised God because He heard their prayer.