Prepare
. . .
Thursday
Then
the one who had received the five talents came forward,
bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed
over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.”
His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy
slave; you have been trustworthy with a few things, I will
put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of
your master.” -- Matthew 25:20-21
Contributed
by World Vision
Watching
out for the business end of the hook, Ruth
Githaiga pulls a Zonker out of a small white box. A thin
strip of hare skin and a bit of silver cording sandwich
the hook. When wet, this will look like a yummy morsel to
a fish in a lake somewhere in the United States. Right now,
it looks like a little bit of income for an enterprising
woman in a slum just outside of Nairobi, Kenya.
Ruth,
a 29-year-old single mother of 9-year-old Anna, sells fishing
flies to people in places like Michigan, Alaska and Kentucky.
She and her daughter live in a tidy house on a row of wooden
shacks along a dirt road too rutted for cars to pass.
She
finances her three-year-old business with a 10,000 shilling
(<$150) loan she received from World Vision. She meets
weekly with a support and accountability group of fellow
borrowers. The group screens potential members carefully,
since the members make up the difference if one of them
defaults on his or her loan for any reason (sickness, theft,
accident, downturn in the business).
When
her first loan is repaid, she will be eligible
for another, twice the size of the first. Beyond her obvious
need to support herself and her daughter, Ruth says, “I
don’t do this out of self interest.” She currently
employs four people from her poor neighborhood. “If
I build my business, I can employ more people.”
Microlending
agencies offer those mired in poverty opportunity, community
networks, and stability. While meeting physical needs is
not enough, it is the beginning of the “ministry of
presence” that Christ calls us to.
God
our Provider, help us to be good stewards of what you
have entrusted into our care. Bless those who are receiving
loans to start their own businesses, and bless those who
are providing the loans. Give them wisdom and perseverance
to make good decisions and wise investments. Help us to
work with our Kenyan brothers and sisters to make your
Kingdom more visible to the world around us. In Jesus’
name we pray. Amen.
An Advent Journey