Silent-Battles Moldy Vienna's

2026-08-11

🔑 When Hope Has Gone Moldy.

Monday.

No food.

Not “I don’t know what I’m going to have for supper.”

I mean no food.

And when you’re hungry, hope becomes a very practical thing.

It can look like a packet of viennas.

Today, hope arrived in the form of viennas that Nico’s mother had given him.

For a few moments, there was relief.

Maybe Monday wasn’t going to be quite so bad after all.

Then we looked closer.

They were moldy.

Upon questioning Nico, we discovered that they had actually been given to him on Friday. They had spent the weekend in his cooler bag.

And just like that, the little bit of hope that had arrived at the door went straight back out again.

There is something almost cruelly ironic about that.

Hope had gone moldy.

😔 The Reality Behind the Words.

I can joke about it.

Sometimes you have to.

Because if you don’t laugh at some of the ridiculous things life throws at you, you might just sit down and cry.

But underneath the humor is frustration.

I’m hungry.

I’m tired.

I’m frustrated.

And sometimes I wonder how many times a person can start again when every little bit of progress seems to be followed by another setback.

There are days when surviving feels less like moving forward and more like simply refusing to fall over.

Today feels like one of those days.

😄 And Yet… PlebWare.

And then there is the strange contradiction of my life.

I’m hungry and frustrated about our circumstances.

But I’m also genuinely happy.

Why?

PlebWare.

While the physical circumstances around me can feel like they are going backwards, something else is moving forward.

The ideas are becoming real.

The website is alive.

PlebVox works.

The articles are being organized.

The system is taking shape.

Something that started as ideas, sketches, experiments and late-night conversations has become a living ecosystem.

That makes me incredibly happy.

It reminds me that my circumstances are not the entirety of my story.

Today I may not know where the next meal is coming from.

But I can still build.

I can still write.

I can still create.

I can still think.

I can still dream.

And apparently, I can still turn a moldy packet of viennas into an article.

That’s got to count for something.

🙏 Sad About Our Lot.

I’m not going to pretend everything is wonderful.

It isn’t.

I’m sad about our lot.

I’m frustrated that food can become something we have to worry about.

I’m frustrated that working hard doesn’t always translate into having enough.

I’m frustrated that sometimes you can be doing everything you know how to do and still find yourself staring at an empty cupboard.

There is dignity in admitting that.

Poverty isn’t a character flaw.

Hunger isn’t a moral failure.

And struggling doesn’t mean we’ve stopped trying.

Sometimes life simply becomes hard.

Very hard.

🔥 But This Isn’t The End.

So yes…

Monday brought us mouldy viennas.

But Monday did not bring the end of the story.

There is still work to do.

There are still words to write.

There are still ideas to build.

There is still PlebWare.

And there is still tomorrow.

I don’t know what to tomorrow’s provision will look like.

I don’t know where the next meal will come from.

But I know this:

I haven’t given up.

Hungry?

Yes.

Frustrated?

Absolutely.

Sad?

At times.

But finished?

Not yet.

Maybe that’s what hope really is.

Not pretending everything is fine.

Not denying the hunger.

Not painting poverty with pretty words.

Perhaps hope is simply looking at an ugly Monday and saying:

“You don’t get to decide how my story ends.”

🙏 A Prayer for Tomorrow.

Lord Jesus,

You know what today looks like.

You know the empty cupboards, the frustration, the disappointment, and the hunger.

You also know the joy that comes when an idea finally works, when something we’ve built begins to live, and when PlebWare takes another step forward.

Thank You for giving us the strength to keep creating even when life is difficult.

Please provide what we need for tomorrow.

Give us wisdom, courage, and perseverance.

And when hope seems to arrive looking a little worse for wear, remind us that our hope ultimately rests not in what is inside a cooler bag, but in You.

Amen.

🗡️ ‘God’s Journalist’ in conjunction with ‘ChatGPT .’ and the ‘Holy Spirit’