Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. – Proverbs 19:17

After 66 days at sea, including sailing through treacherous storms, the Mayflower finally reached America. The Pilgrims had intended to settle in the northern parts of the existing Virginia Colony. But fierce winds blew them far north to Cape Cod in the Massachusetts area. If the Pilgrims had arrived there years earlier, they would have been met by the fierce Patuxet tribe, which would have probably killed them. But in 1617, a plague mysteriously wiped out the tribe except for one man: Squanto. He had been in England at the time of the outbreak. Squanto returned to the area just before the Pilgrims arrived to find his entire tribe gone. So the land was abandoned and open—a prime situation for the Pilgrims.

Squanto lived with the Pilgrims and accepted their Christian faith. He taught them how to live in the New World. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford described Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for their good.” The native taught the Pilgrims to fertilize their cornfields with shad from nearby streams and to add beans and squash once the corn shoots had broken the ground. He taught them how to catch eel from the creek and riverbeds. This was a delicacy to the hungry Pilgrims. Squanto served as their interpreter and facilitated a peaceful pact with the nearby Wampanoag tribe, which held for more than fifty years.

God instructs you to be generous with your time, talents, and treasure – to help others in need. When you do, thank the Lord for allowing you to be a vessel of His love and mercy. Pray that believers across the nation will do the same.