The way we grow up often impacts what we do in life. I want to share with you a story from my dear friend and ministry partner William Agbeti about his upbringing and how it informs our ministry outreach today. William writes, “When I was growing up, I lived in a compound house. We were ten families, including mine, with a combined population of some 30 people. There were five in my family numbered 5. Mom and Dad and I slept on the same bed. The others slept on a mat on the floor by the bed. The other compound house next to ours had close to 60 persons. It was much bigger and lots noisy. All the families that lived in the compound house slept in what can best be described as pigeon holes.
“We were crammed into small spaces and shared a common bath. Our compound house had no toilet facility. Everyone had to cross a major road to attend to nature’s call five minutes away at a public toilet. On many occasions, judging from how people walked on the way to the public toilet, with squeezed bots, one could deduce the level of alert or alarm that the individual was dealing with! We had neither electricity nor running water in the compound house. My parents never used a refrigerator, radio or even a stove. Those were high level, out of reach luxuries. A particular compound friend of mine, let’s call him Jay, had it tougher than I did. He could not be fed by the relatives he stayed with – a perpetually drunk uncle and a prostitute auntie. Oftentimes, I had to secretly share my food with him.
“In an attempt to help feed him most times, I introduced him to “crab catching” at the beach. We would go to the beach at dawn, hunt for crabs, cook and enjoy them at home. It was pure heaven, as we ate the crabs and drank the spicy hot soup we made with them. Much later, I extended our little hunting expedition to cover groundhogs hunting. This became so successful, that I started feeding not only one, but several friends with succulent fried, boiled or grilled meat, accompanied by super-taste-bud-crushing, hot red pepper and corn meal. I could easily have become rich in those days, making my own brand of “knockout” peppers! Back then, little did I know God was preparing me to feed hundreds of children today.
“My involvement in our Ministry’s feeding program today has its origins and blessings from a compound house. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” There is human training and divine training. Both work for the same good. My childhood “training and experience” was a compound blessing.” This story is a “Jungle Chronicle” akin to my Friday feature The Farm Chronicles. I think it is important for you, as a reader of The Daily Jot, to gain an understanding of the “what” behind those of us who are leading this ministry and why we are so passionate about providing news analysis from a prophetic worldview and feeding, clothing, and giving water to those in greatest need.
