I Prayed for an African Goat
by Arnold Stauffer
I grew up on a dairy farm. Fifty Holstein milk cows, and a lot of other animals and birds. Forty chickens, thirty turkeys, twenty pigs, ten cats (mousers in the barn), four horses, and at various times, sheep, mink and ducks. But the neatest animals were the goats. One day, one of my six brothers brought home a female goat from the auction mart. A few months later she gave us triplets, three cute white bundles of crazy fun.
Full of energy and mischief, these three lovable rascals spent their days fighting mock battles. Or climbing on anything where their young hooves would take them. We built obstacles for them to scramble up and they mastered everyone with ease. Hilarious entertainers!
When I signed up to visit Home Churches in Kenya and Rwanda, I noticed with some delight that we could deliver goats to homes with single mothers. It didn’t take me long to send a check to the Home of Hope office for the purchase of eight goats and when I went to Rwanda, we delivered them on the back of motorcycles!
We each donned helmets and plastic tops to protect against any surprise from the goat we carried on our laps, and off we went. Down rough and rocky paths to ladies excitedly anticipating our arrival.
What a joy for us to see the smiling delight expressed by the recipients of our gifts.
A single goat can positively change the lives of an African family. It will provide milk and cheese to consume and much needed protein. They could start a herd. Careful planning can allow increased income from selling the offspring, called kids. This is a very useful gift to give an African family and has the potential to improve their health and economic future.
Getting an animal – goat, pig or cow, to take care of, naturally teaches business and life skills.
Goats make an ideal animal for such folks. Goats eat anything; leaves, twigs, tree bark, shrubs and a variety of grasses and weeds - almost anything they find. Their unique stomach allows them to digest a wider range of plant material than other animals. Very curious explorers and grazers, they will sample anything with their mouths but usually spit out inedible items, kind of like toddlers or "kids"!
When we were about to leave with our goat bike caravan, someone on our team suggested we pray for the people who were about to receive our gift. I piped up and said I was going to pray for the African goat I was about to deliver, that it would have a long and profitable life, and a prolific family, for its deserving masters!
Go to the Animals Project tab for information about how you can make such a contribution to a needy African family.
