Ruth is a single mom of two precious boys living in a home made of scrap aluminum, wood and other various found materials. This home was only a temporary home, until she was able to build herself a new, safe home for her and her children. After losing her job, this home became a little more than temporary. After miraculously withstanding 7 years of South African weather, a storm blew through, destroying Ruth's home. But Ruth stayed strong and managed to rebuild the collapsed sections of her home.
During my stay with Ten Thousand Homes, I got the pleasure of going with the team to share with Ruth some wonderful news-- they are going to start building her a new home! I could hardly contain the excitement of sharing such great news with such a deserving woman and getting to see her face light up when she heard the news, but when we got to her home and heard the news that she had for us, my heart sank. Right when she greeted us, she began to tell us that she was very sad and had just heard of some bad news... she had just found out that her grandmother had passed away that morning and she was preparing to go to her house and begin making arrangements with her family. You could feel the sadness in her heart. We gathered together and prayed for her and told her our good news. Before finding out about her grandmother, I expected her to be jumping up and down and crying tears of joy over the news of her new home, but she seemed emotionless. Although very grateful to finally have the safe home she had been praying for for years, the happiness seemed unable to break through her sorrows.
Ruth gave us a tour of the home she had been trying to build for herself... the very place that just a little more than a week later, would start to actually look like a home, with a door and windows. Before the end of my stay in South Africa, we went to Ruth's house to see how the progress of the construction was going.
I saw this experience as two women receiving two new homes. While Ruth's grandmother has gone to her new Home in heaven, her grand-daughter has also received the gift of a new, sturdy home here on Earth. I feel honored to have been able to have a part in this story and am anxious to see the rest of it unfold. Ruth has asked for prayer to find work so she is able to provide for her malnourished children. Join me in praying for Ruth and her family's health and well-being during their hard times and pray that God blesses her beyond belief!
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