During this trying time of pandemic, the lives of millions of people have been affected. Our family was no exception. My wife, Glenda, lost one of her jobs as a nurse in an aged care facility. One of our daughters lost her casual work, and another daughter lost a significant number of work hours. I had to stay home after undergoing a major surgical procedure. While we suffered from this pandemic, we knew that there were many other people who were suffering more than we. We came across a social media group which aims to give assistance to foreign students, affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, particularly Filipino students stranded in Australia… who have either lost jobs and were unable to get government support… don’t have family here or … who needed assistance of every kind.
Glenda said that she had been in the same situation before, and knew how hard it was to feel helpless. So we decided to extend some help to these students. We know God has blessed us. So, we can be a blessing to others too. Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of My brothers, you do it to Me. When I was hungry, you gave Me to eat, when I was thirsty, you gave Me to drink. I was naked and you clothed Me.”
We found this time as an opportunity to love Jesus in others. Thus, we signed up to extend assistance to 2 groups of Filipino students (a group of 4 and a group of 6): to supply them with bags of groceries, clothes and other things they needed… We started opening our closets and sort out some winter clothes which we could share, because winter was approaching. We went shopping for groceries like food and toiletries. Giving out groceries and meeting up with them was an experience of meeting Jesus in them. We gave them not only material things but supported them by simply listening to their experiences… their difficulties… and giving them assurances and encouragements. They were very grateful and happy, but we were happier because we were able to love and help Jesus in them concretely.
God is never outdone in generosity. Recently, Glenda was offered a full-time permanent job in another aged care facility where she was working part-time… A daughter was granted a Jobkeeper support. I recovered pretty well from my surgery and now I’m back to work. My other daughter is still waiting for a possible support from a company, and just this week, we received a call from the Philippines that a family wanted to rent our house there. This was quite unexpected because our house was vacant and had not been rented since last year. This is our experience of the “hundredfold” that Jesus promises in the Gospel to those who love and follow Him. Everything has been totally beyond our expectation!
