If you had the opportunity to spend even five minutes with one of our widow groups in the Central African Republic, you would agree that the phrase, “dancing in the rain” perfectly describes them.
Life for widows in the C.A.R. is hard enough; but when war broke out in 2013, life has only gotten harder. Still, when these ladies are together, you sense that, not only are they staring down the odds, they are thriving, even having fun! When they are together, their burdens are halved and their joys doubled.
CHRISTMAS GIFT
Of all the projects Encompass Crisis Response takes on in the C.A.R., those done to benefit these ladies are among our favorites. We started off the year with a Christmas/New Year’s gift given to 25-30 widows, which included a new 6 meter piece of cloth for a new skirt or dress and a small gift of cash.
WIDOW GARDEN
With farming being the only marketable skill for most of these ladies, we also purchased a piece of land not far from where they live. A previous widow garden was a blessing for a time, but once the country fell into war and instability, which continues to this day, the ladies were afraid to travel out there let alone be out there by themselves.
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
So remember these ladies in prayer. PRAY that God will double-bless their crops of peanuts, white beans, corn, manioc crops, etc. PRAY for their safety. And PRAY that these ladies will always have enough joy in their hearts to continue to dance in the rain.
