by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | Aug 11, 2025 | Gleanings Stories
Mozambique is called “Terra de Boa Gente,” Portuguese for “The Land of Good People.” Anybody who goes to Mozambique will find friendliness, according to Onei and Dorlim, our ministry partners there, “Mozambique is like Gleanings,” Onei said. “You go there and you don’t want to leave. The people are very warm, and it’s a beautiful country. The landscape has some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. People love the tropical climate and the food, which is a mixture of Portuguese, Indian, and local cuisine. However, Mozambique is a poor country overall, with a great difference between the rich and the poor. In the capital, Maputo, resources are present. As you move north, the level of poverty increases. Provinces in the north are more rural, less developed. Access to drinkable water is a big challenge. People need to walk far to the place where they get water.”
MULTIPLE CHALLENGES IN THE NORTH
The north of Mozambique faces multiple challenges, including terrorist groups and natural disasters. “Terrorist groups are still active in the north of Mozambique, ongoing,” Onei said. “On top of that we keep on having cyclones that have been hitting that same region repeatedly. People have moved to camps due to terrorism and cyclones, and they are considered internally displaced people. They are not in a position where they can access everything they need. Flooded regions cause displacement, but people will move back after the flood, and then the cycle repeats when there is another flood.”
FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS
Onei and Dorlim, who were studying medicine in the US in 2020 and who stayed at Gleanings with their kids during that season, are now the bridge, the middle people, to connect, coordinate, and arrange shipments of food from Gleanings to their country. The first shipment to Mozambique was in 2023. Now a second container has arrived, and food is currently being distributed to people in dire need. “Our second container of food is being distributed right now,” Onei said. “Our support is focused on the region of Cabo Delgado. In Cabo Delgado, the ministry team is focusing on eight communities, selected by the missionaries there who have a good understanding of the needs. The intent is always to go to those who are the worst off; 1,400 families will be receiving the food within those eight communities. We are also concerned with the province just to the south, Nampula. That province has the port of entry, and it was hit by worse natural disasters—hurricanes destroyed a bridge there, and the food was stuck there for three weeks. Our hearts are heavy for what is happening in Nampula. We want to have another container dedicated to that region. We need to first have the necessary structure on the ground to be ready for a container there.”
SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THE FOOD
“The people are Muslim,” Onei said. “The food from Gleanings is a new way to show them that we, their Christian neighbors, care. Above all, it’s caring. The food has enabled the connection for the people to also help them in ways beyond the food, and get them to a place where they can work and care for themselves. Missionaries visit the communities ahead of distributing the food, in order to demonstrate how to prepare the food. Then on the day when they distribute, they first share the gospel and then distribute. They speak to the crowd but also in smaller groups sit with the men, the leadership of those communities. They use a gospel resource called From Creation to Christ.”
GOD’S GIFT OF NUTRITION SAVES CHILDREN’S LIVES
One boy’s life was saved recently. He is Jay from Mecufi, which was hit by a particularly bad cyclone in February 2025. “He is two-and-a-half but he looks like he’s one,” the missionary said. “He was so malnourished that he had not yet taken his first steps. He also struggles with a type of hernia. Now, after a few months of proper nutrition, he is walking.” Jay’s family will be receiving Gleanings soup mix in this current distribution. Praise God!
A WIDOW SAVED BY CHRIST
“A woman lost her daughters and husband in terrorist attacks. Her girls were abducted, and the dad was trying to find them and got very sick and then he died—also from heartache. She was left alone with her other young son. She received food, and the gospel was shared with her. She began to visit the ministry and participate in training. She learned how to sew, and now she started her own business sewing school uniforms. She makes a living out of that. The impact of this is immense for her. It started with soup mix. Now she is able to sustain herself and her son. She came to Christ, and she is really a part of the ministry family now.”
PRAYER REQUESTS
We need more food. Two containers per year would be great. We also want to pray for the situation with terrorism in the north. Pray that the ministries there will have what they need to make a difference in the lives of the people.
by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | Feb 27, 2025 | Gleanings Stories
OUR PARTNER MINISTRY FEEDING THE HUNGRY AND SHARING THE LOVE OF GOD
Blessings of Hope is a nonprofit organization in Leola, Pennsylvania that partners with Gleanings to send surplus food to hungry people. A sign on their wall states: “Food is our tool. Helping people experience God is our goal.”
Gleanings first connected with Blessings of Hope in 2023. “We had so many truckloads of pasta donated all at once,” Warehouse Manager Jesse Correll said. “Sometimes we are offered more than we need. We love to share those excess donations with other food ministries.” Andy Rotunno, director of distribution, reached out to Blessings of Hope, and they eagerly accepted several truckloads of pasta. Taking the 1,000-pound boxes of noodles, volunteers at Blessings repackaged it into smaller bags to give out to ministry partners.
Jesse and Elisabeth Correll visited Blessings of Hope in January 2025. While touring the facility, they learned that an estimated 80 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States per year. Blessings accepts surplus food from supermarkets, farmers and distribution centers who would otherwise throw the excess food away. “A lot of food banks can’t accept food in bulk,” said founder, Aaron Fisher. “We use volunteers to help package food into smaller quantities that churches can handle.”
Blessings of Hope is now working with Barnabas Aid, (another Gleanings’ Partner) to dehydrate fresh vegetables and create a nine-ingredient soup mix. Through trial and error, employees at Blessings have been learning how to dehydrate zucchini, peppers, sweet potatoes, kale, and more. Some of this soup mix has gone to Cuba, Haiti, and Guatemala—places where people are desperate for food.
The similarities between Gleanings and Blessings are many. Both Gleanings’ founder, Wally Wenge, and Blessings’ Founder, Aaron Fisher, saw a need and saw food waste. They innovated to redirect the goods to hungry people. This is the heart of Jesus, calling His disciples to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in a variety of ways. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” James 2:14-16. Thank you, Blessings of Hope, for sharing our vision: sharing the love of God through the gift of food.
by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | May 18, 2024 | Gleanings Stories
Seventeen years ago, Bob and Laverne Pringle had dreams to travel in a motorhome as snowbirds, winter visitors, to California and Arizona. In 2007 they made the purchase, and left the cold climate of Langley, BC Canada. With the desire to serve with a purpose in a Christian setting, God brought them to Gleanings where they were inspired immediately by the sincere fellowship of other Christians.
During daily chapel, their faith deepened with expanded belief and trust in the Lord. An encouraging YWAM staff gifted them with a plaque with scripture from Joshua 24: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” The couple has returned to Gleanings 30 times in the winter months as well spring months.
Bob is privileged to be involved in the Gleanings mercy ministry dried soup mix productivity. He regularly operates a forklift and puts in order the soup plant and warehouse. Laverne participates by assisting in hospitality during weekly Love Feast dinners and special events. She embraces flower gardening on the grounds and seeks opportunities in the laundry and housekeeping departments.
Bob and Laverne value fellowshipping with others of all ages from the wee little ones of YWAM to seniors. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, his love endures forever.”
We are so grateful for faithful Mission Builders like Bob, Laverne, and many others who make this ministry beautiful picture of the Body of Christ. Thank you, Mission Builders! many others who make this ministry a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ. Thank you, Mission Builders!
by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | Nov 6, 2023 | Gleanings Stories
Ron Wagner (former Gleanings staff member, 1997-2007) invited Fritz Meier and Andy Rotunno to fly up to Saskatchewan, Canada and visit the farmers who donate peas and lentils to the Gleanings soup mix production. Each of us went separately for ten days, Fritz in June and Andy in July. What a privilege to meet so many of our donating farmers face to face. As we drove around the beautiful golden province, we realized that we are not merely individuals working for charitable business connections, but we are communities collaborating together to save lives in the name of Jesus. What an encouragement it was to see how expansive the Body of Christ is, and how the Lord has brought us together from across the nations to bring the hope of Christ to so many.
First we visited Hutterite colony farms. These unique communities are so family-oriented, hard-working, hospitable, and generous. Their leaders agree to give truckloads of product to Gleanings each year. When we were there, they invited us into their homes for coffee or a farm fresh meal. They gave us extensive tours of kitchens, vast gardens, shops, and new construction sites. Once we were invited to stay overnight in the colony and spend the evening singing praise and worship together with families. It was such a blessed time, and we were so excited to invite them to come visit Gleanings one day.
We also visited one of our main grain processing partners, Simpson Seeds. We met with their administrative team and shared stories about the impact of the lentils. Jordan, the general manager, said that Gleanings is a perfect fit because we are aligned with the company’s core values. Mr. Simpson shared that Gleanings is a missional extension of Simpson Seeds’ vision, which is to “nourish the world.” It was easy to see that Simpson Seeds is not just a business, but a community. They have processed millions of pounds of lentils on Gleanings’ behalf.
Finally, we visited a small church in a tiny town, invited by good friends (and donating farmers) Kent and Darla Pierce. During the service, Andy shared about children whose lives were saved because of the Gleanings food—peas and lentils grown in their fields. They asked us to stay for an additional question-and-answer time. Farmers in the church promised to give truckload volumes to Gleanings no matter what the coming harvest looks like.
From the rural fields of Saskatchewan to the small town of Dinuba and the many remote nations of the world where Gleanings food is served on a daily basis, communities that love Jesus are committed to feed the needy of the world physically and spiritually. We are one in Christ.
by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | Oct 10, 2023 | Gleanings Stories
“We have a dream to make our own soup mix right here in Colombia!” It was October 2019 in a small
upstairs office in Bogota, Colombia. Fritz Meier and Andy Rotunno sat listening to Julian Camargo
share a vision for the future. “Yes, we want to import containers of Gleanings soup mix to
minister to Venezuelan migrant families, as well as the needy people of Colombia,” Julian continued.
“We also believe that we, the Colombian church, can work together to rescue wasted food in
Colombia and make a healthy soup mix here, to help us share the love of Christ.” Read more
by Mohammadjon Mamatkulov | Sep 19, 2023 | Gleanings Stories
The wait is almost over as our Called + Equipped DTS (Discipleship Training School) students are already arriving! Get ready for an incredible season of growth, transformation, and God’s mighty movement! We’re filled with anticipation as we eagerly await the arrival of these passionate individuals who are ready to embark on a life-changing journey. Together, we’ll dive deeper into faith, learn about our God given purpose, and witness the power of God’s love in action. Stay tuned as we share stories of testimonies, adventures, and the incredible ways God moves through our DTS students!
