Our family was privileged to invest seven years in a Muslim country in northern Africa. As we assisted translators there and discipled those who became Christians, we were constantly humbled and saw God’s hand at work. Our vision is to see God glorified among all the peoples of the world. In practice, this goal involves immersing ourselves in the people’s lives, and it requires a daily surrender of our own desires and plans so that God has the freedom to use us in any way.

Early in our time in Africa, God convicted our family about our failure to reach out to the poor. Since we lived in a country rated as one of the top three poorest in the world, this conviction might sound odd. Just about anyone we ministered to would be considered poor—we were surrounded by the most needy people imaginable.

Growing Cold to Needs

Since we were surrounded by such poverty, it was easy to grow “used to it.” Used to cripples handicapped from polio or other diseases. Used to men whose legs are twisted and as short as our little four-year-old’s legs. Used to seeing the blind being led by the hand through the streets, begging.

Daily, these people approached us and asked for a “little gift.” It was both an honor and a horror to be asked and to give. It was an honor because we knew that in giving what was little to us, we were making a huge difference in their fight for survival. Yet, it was also a horror because the contrast between their poverty and the wealth of blessings we have was so harsh.

It is humbling to step back and realize just how much God has done for us. We have never been hungry in our lives, except through choice (e.g., during a fast or a diet). We have never been homeless. Never been naked. Never begged. Besides being abundantly blessed physically, we have all we need spiritually. We have the entire Bible in our own language. We have solid fellowship with other Christians and loads of inspirational material available to us.

We’re “glutted” with blessings—we’ve been given so much! Yet, there we were in a land of poverty, corruption, disease, and spiritual famine, and we became numb to the heartache of the needs around us.

Opening Our Eyes to the Truth

God opened our eyes to see how deadened we had become to these great needs all around us. He used a quote from a devotional to pierce our hearts and wake us to His call to do something special for the poor in our city.

“The poor and disabled are often considered weak and are despised by men, but Paul affirms their great potential. ‘For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence’ (I Corinthians 1:26–28).

“By honoring the poor and disabled with a special meal and motivating them to fulfill the plans God has for them, we will be encouraging them to use God’s power that is available through Christ.

“The next time we see a poor or disabled person, let’s ask ourselves, ‘How do I view this individual? Do I judge him as less important because of his lack of money or because of his physical disabilities, or do I see him as very important because of his potential for great faith?’ Let’s see the poor through their Maker’s eyes and honor them.”

— Daily Success devotional on the command of Christ to Bring In the Poor

God also brought Luke 14:12–14 to our attention: “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

Putting an Idea Into Action

Through these verses, God began to lay on our hearts a vision to begin to reach out to the poor and show Jesus’ love to them. From the time we first arrived in Africa, God had been constantly impressing on us the analogy that His bride was there, waiting to be introduced to Him. As part of this learning process, He gave us the idea of hosting a special banquet for the poor. This was to be a wedding feast especially for those who had yet to meet their spiritual “husband,” Jesus. (See Matthew 22:1 and Revelation 21:9 and 22:17.) He laid the same desire on the hearts of another missionary family in our town. We met to pray and seek the Lord about this idea, and then with His direction and the help of several local believers, we began to prepare and plan to make this vision a reality.

We scheduled it for a Saturday morning and began to plan a feast that would honor needy people who were poor, yet very precious to the Lord. As the day of the banquet approached, I kept asking myself, “Who makes a party for a hundred people without knowing a single guest’s name? Who plans and cooks for that many people without knowing what time they’ll come, who they are, or how much they’ll eat?”

After much preparation, the day arrived. We went to market and bought sheep, which the men slaughtered. (The quote of the day from our son and helper Timmy was, “We go buy sheeps, den we kill dem, den we gonna eatumup!”) We prepared the food and transformed our English learning center into a banquet hall.

When all was ready, my husband stood at the gate to invite the poor who passed by, praying and wondering if anyone would come. Some friends had told a few of the neighborhood poor to come at eleven o’clock. Eleven o’clock came… eleven forty-five came… would anyone come? Were we prepared to pull this off, to truly honor these people? We waited and prayed.

Spreading the Banquet and Seeing God at Work

At last, people began to come. A trickle at first: two men and three little beggar boys. They came in off the dirty, dusty road, and we gave them water to wash in and cool water to drink. Then the food and tea were served. A few more came, and then the floodgates opened up! Precious people began pouring in. Ladies in ripped, dirty clothes, some without shoes and most carrying tiny babies on their backs, and leading several little children.

As people walked down our street, we would call out to them, “Come in and eat! We have food we’ve prepared for you and your children for Jesus’ sake.” God gave our young sons the idea to wash the feet of our guests. The people were astounded by this treatment, and some were moved to tears. They were gently and respectfully treated and were fed a wonderful meal. Because of God’s provision, each one was able to eat until they were full and satisfied, and during the meal some native believers spoke about the love of Christ in their own language. As they left, we gave them each a care package with a tape about the Gospel. They were all so amazed that it was made just for them, and they couldn’t find words to express their gratefulness.

After the banquet was over, we received an e-mail from a friend who had been praying for God to multiply our food. We hadn’t even thought to ask prayer for that, yet that’s exactly what God did! Although we had planned to serve about a hundred, we ended up serving over 300 people, and we still had lots of leftovers. The sauce refused to run out, and every time we took an empty breadbox around the corner, we found a full one to take its place. God is truly amazing!

All the national believers who served that day had been delivered from Muslim backgrounds, and seeing this example of God’s power at work was important for them. Each one took home an overflowing tray of what they called the “miracle food.” They shared this with their Muslim family members and neighbors, while telling them the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. That same Jesus is alive today. He performed the same miracle for us, and He is still the only way to the Father.

We worked long hours in the hot sun, but it was so rewarding to share the love of Jesus with these people who truly couldn’t repay us. What a privilege it was to see so many people feel His love. It was a beautiful day!

We had never met our guests before, and we didn’t know any of their names. However, we knew that the Lord knew them, and He knew that they would come to our banquet. If He knew who would come to our little banquet, think of how much more He knew them while He hung on the cross and gave His life for them.

We didn’t just tell these hungry people about the love of Jesus: we showed them His love. I believe some of those hungry beggars have their names written on Jesus’ hand. (See Isaiah 49:16.) Maybe this banquet was a little step in their journey to know Him. We prepared this banquet in faith, and in faith we beseech the Father to bring those people to His table in His eternal kingdom and that He would cleanse them with the blood of His Son. (See Luke 22:30a and I John 1:7b.)