It is the only miracle of Jesus which is recorded in all four Gospels. In many ways it was the climax of His ministry of miracles, for shortly thereafter Jesus began the journey to Jerusalem. It was designed to produce faith in His disciples.
Upon hearing where they were located a multitude came and Jesus had compassion for them and began to speak to them about the kingdom of God and healed many. “When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” (Mark 6:35-37)
“And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes….” (Luke 9:13). In this account, Jesus is getting the disciples to acknowledge the impossibility of provision by human means alone. “For they were about five thousand men” (verse 14a) and while not counting women and children the total number may have exceeded 10,000.
“And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company” (v. 14b) You know the rest of the story, but with hardly any food to serve can you only imagine what the disciples were thinking upon hearing these instructions?
I am reminded of such a daunting task when, in 1996, Sons of Thunder Ministries first purchased the 10,000 acre farm in Zambia that founder Jerry Beall was commissioned by the Holy Spirit to use the land as a basis to “feed Africa physically and spiritually.” And he has never forgotten the Lord’s instruction to him.
If you have not heard, the sub-Saharan region of Africa has been subjected to a brutal two-year drought that is reversing years of progress for almost 250 million affected. Hunger is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the area and exceeding local government capacities.
Successive crop failures and poor harvests in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa are taking a toll on agricultural production, and food prices are soaring. As you can see in the January 2020 SPEI Drought Monitor map, Zambia is in the heart of this drought-stricken region. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa traditionally provide 70% of the region’s maize production and due to the drought and below-average yields, 41 million are now suffering from “food insecurity.” Maize is the staple crop for “nshima” a thick porridge made from corn meal (mealie meal) which is eaten daily.
Sons of Thunder Farm is located in southern Zambia and these consuming drought conditions are on its door step each day. Fortunately, God has blessed Sons of Thunder greatly and the ministry adopted Farming God’s Way© non-till agricultural techniques years ago and is now complimented by water irrigation systems sourced by several drilled wells. Recent harvests have been bountiful. And this past summer SOT constructed the first of three aquaponic fish ponds to provide a source of additional protein. (You can read more about this in prior blog posts dated July 17, 2019; June 12,2019 and December 12, 2018)
“The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25)
The SOT ministry has always held out a generous hand to its surrounding villages not only for feeding the hungry, but in providing medical and maternity services as well a renowned school for 400 children. There are four churches located on the Farm and no one visits without hearing or experiencing the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, many hundreds of people are streaming daily to the Sons of Thunder Farm in the midst of this horrible drought seeking humanitarian food and aid.
In the United States we have soup kitchens but early this year Sons of Thunder built an “Nshima Kitchen” on its compound for the same purposes. A building was under construction and it was felt that God wanted to use it as a facility to feed the hungry. Today it is not uncommon that Zambians will walk 2-3 days to the Farm in order to obtain a meal at the Nshima Kitchen. The first meal served was fish, nshima, and green beans. In the first week alone 240 Zambians were served. One woman walked with her children for two days having not eaten in three days. The gratitude expressed only moves you to tears.
At left are photos from the first week of the “Nshima Kitchen.”
Sons of Thunder Farm is now attempting to use its technology to sustain food crops over a larger portion of the calendar year to help meet these needs and continues to use its facilities to host regional training seminars to educate on Farming Gods Way© techniques.
Needless to say, sustaining the Nshima Kitchen and feeding what is becoming thousands of people places a tremendous financial strain on Sons of Thunder Ministries. It is for this reason I am asking you to consider making a donation to Sons of Thunder in the midst of this humanitarian crisis.
I am reminded in John’s account of the feeding of 5,000 that the very next day Jesus preached a sermon on the “bread of life” and received Him as they had the bread itself. (John 6:22-59) Likewise, you can be assured that the gospel of Jesus Christ is extended each day to the hungry streaming into the Farm asking for food. Having spent cherished time in recent years ministering at Sons of Thunder I can assure you that our Lord and Savior is exalted every day in its operation and the conduct of its leadership. It is the support of people like you who can and will make a difference in the lives of many. If you would like to learn more,you can click here to go to the Sons of Thunder website and make a donation.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)