“I remember your sincere faith, as was that of your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and I know that in you that same faith continues to stand firm.” 2 Timothy 1:5
Lois taught her daughter Eunice, who taught her son Timothy, who became a great pastor completely trusted by the great missionary Paul. Timothy means “one who fears God”, and this was the true legacy he received from his grandmother and mother, and which he soon passed on in his ministry. God’s blessing on a family passes from generation to generation through the elders, or in many cases, through the children.
This is what has been happening in the PEPE units in Venezuela. The parents of 11 children got married and were soon baptized. These 11 children, our little “Timothy’s”, took Jesus into their homes and began the transformation of the generations through them. Seven of them had their nutritional health badly damaged by the lack of healthy food. Therefore, they were assisted by our Hungry in the World program by receiving EF (Enriched Flour). The parents saw their children receiving love and care at PEPE and wanted to experience and live this love as well.
Did Timothy make a mess, cry, throw a tantrum? I believe so, because he was just like any other child. But the investment of his grandmother and mother, with love, made him a great man of God. Children learn from adults not only through words, but by imitating what they live day to day, inside and outside the home.
Let the child be a child! They have the right to play, run, laugh, study, eat, be loved, respected, understood, valued, and heard. There are thousands of children in the world who still suffer from sexual exploration, slave labor, lack of food, emotional and physical abuse. Many of them are very close to us. What can we do? We can be God’s channels to help children to live as children wherever they are, because that is their true right. Be an extended blessing to all children who are near or far from you!
Carmen Lígia
Continental coordinator PEPE Americas
Translated by Juliana Martins
