Dear Family and Friends,
Writing to you today, I am filled with confidence that God has brought me to an even better place than I expected when I first stumbled upon Word Made Flesh five months ago. Having spent two weeks in July living with the majority of WMF’s overseas staff, hearing their stories, sharing meals, worshipping alongside, and learning together; I came away from the staff gathering feeling like a part of something really special.
I cannot tell you how truly inspiring it was to hear how God is using Word Made Flesh communities in eleven cities across the world. There is the community in Kolkata, India that works to bring women out of the sex trade by giving them an opportunity to make blankets and bags (check out www.saribari.com). Then there is the community in Sierra Leone, Africa that runs a youth center on the streets of Freetown just ten years after a devastating civil war in that country. Every Word Made Flesh staff person that I met has an amazing testimony as to how God is working among some of the most vulnerable of the world’s poor, but here’s the thing that really makes me excited…so do I!
After spending time with the Word Made Flesh community, I have a greater understanding of what the “big picture” of the organization looks like. And even though I’m only a small piece of the puzzle, I’ve come realize that just like everyone else’s piece, mine is important. After all, when you put a jigsaw puzzle together and there’s a piece missing, you never get that feeling of completion or fulfillment. To take this analogy a step further, as Christians we are all part of something much greater, the body of Christ. It’s only when we appreciate ourselves and the gifts that God has given each of us individually, can we truly thrive where He’s placed us. This is something that I’m still learning.
Thanks to all of you that have committed to supporting me through prayer and financially. You make it possible for me to serve in the way that God has called me. I am still in need of more support, so if you are willing I’d ask you to prayerfully consider joining what God is doing through Word Made Flesh among some of the most vulnerable of the world’s poor by praying for or donating to this organization. If you would like to contact me, my email address is jeff.swart@wordmadeflesh.org. Have a very blessed September, and enjoy the last bit of summer and beginning of autumn!
Grace and Peace,
Jeff Swart