The smiles of children receiving rice bring a moment of hope and opportunity for lives to be truly changed.
New Missions sponsor Tammy Rahn noticed a recurring theme while reading through Scripture. Verse after verse described God’s heart for “the least of these,” and Jesus’ ministry showed His love and provision for the poor and hungry. After discovering these truths, her own heart reflected her Father’s priorities. “To have the heart of God, you can’t help but want to feed the hungry,” says Tammy.
This realization spurred Tammy into action. After many trips to Haiti, she was familiar with the needs of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Tammy had interacted with the poor and hungry and knew there was more to be done. Even before last year’s catastrophic earthquake, many Haitians struggled to eat enough to survive. The disaster only intensified the problem.
The team arrives in Haiti to distribute food at New Missions Schools.
“Scripture commands us to always have a heart attentive to the poor,” says Tammy. “To me, that is Haiti. I believe that is where God’s heart is.” She began to raise money with her church to provide rice for families in Haiti. Through fundraisers, Newport Assembly of God in Pennsylvania raised over $5,000 to feed the hungry.
In February 2011, Tammy and her family traveled to Haiti with other members of their church to distribute the rice they raised funds to purchase. The team held dry feedings at three New Missions schools. During the distributions, the team gave rice and oil to each student and prayed over each of them. The food and cooking items were then taken home to provide meals for entire families.
During the dry feedings, team members pray over each student. New Missions is dedicated to encouraging students’ physical and spiritual growth.
“I always get teary-eyed when a child gets a bag of rice,” said Tammy. “It makes my day just to know something as simple as that makes such an impact in a life. I count it a privilege to be the hands and feet of God in Haiti. The Bible says we will always have the poor among us, but we always need to be among the poor—helping, encouraging, and lending a hand whenever we can.”
Tammy and the team from Newport Assembly of God distributed food to about 850 students during their week in Haiti. Hundreds of families were blessed by the obedience and commitment of this church. The team was also blessed as they saw the promise of Proverbs 22:9 fulfilled – “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”
Students eagerly waiting to receive essential food items to share with their families.
~ Jaimee Marks, Contributing Writer
Team members are the hands and feet of Jesus, as they distribute rice and oil to each student.
