Community cleaning program
After the TCT training we returned and saw that our community was so dirty. Garbage, community waste products, anything that was not useful was thrown into the streets, making the community road ugly and bad. We prayed and went around the community telling them about the situation and asking them to join in the cleaning program. Some said, ‘even if we clean now tomorrow it will become dirty again’. Others said ‘you should do it. When we see maybe some people will join.’ So we did. When the church started to clean, about 300 people from the community joined the cleaning program! Later when it was completed community people said’ Oh it looks so good, if we keep doing this every day and not throwing garbage on the road it will continue to look good. It is our responsibility to make this happen.’ Now things are improving. A small act of love gave us a closer relationship with the community.
Caring for a poor woman at the time of delivery
A pregnant woman in the community was very poor. Her husband was a bad drunkard. He did not care about anything in the home. When time came for the women to deliver the child they had nothing in the home to eat nor any clothes for new baby. Everyone in the community knew about the situation but no one took the initiative to help her. So with prayer, a few people went to her house with food, clothes, massage oil for the baby and mother. It was a great help. The woman was so happy that she cried tears of joy. She was so thankful to us. The communities attitude towards helping changed. This family are now open to Christianity. They have not yet come to Christ but their hearts are much softer. The husband still drinks and fears coming to church. We continue to pray this family will come to the saving knowledge of Christ and the husband will stop drinking and beating his wife and start working and start helping the family.
School Program
A community school has approximately 200 students. Most children are from very poor families. Many children come to school without a bag and end up losing books while walking to and from school. Many do not have notebooks or a pen. So for Christmas we gave each child a note book, pencils and a bag. The children were very happy, parents too were happy that they received the gift for their children. They had thought that the church was just a praying and singing community. We are so thankful to God for the teaching we have received, it has opened our eyes, helping us to share the Gospel through actions.
Helping to build a house for widow and orphans
Sujit Ale and Rejita Ale are a brother and sister. They lost their father a year ago. Their mother is mute. They are a very poor family in the community. Their house could barely be called a house, it did not have a roof nor walls. They were just surviving. A few months after the father’s death, Rajita Ale broke her hand and stopped attending school. The son who was also not going to school, he was studying in class 7 but left the school because they had no way, no encouragement, no help. The school never came to try to help, but instead cut her name from the school roll because she had not attended. This family had many problems, the community knew it but nobody helped them. When church heard about the situation of the family, church members helped them to take Rejita to hospital for treatment. They made a house for the family and re-enrolled the children in school. It has been great service to the family in the community. When the community saw the church helping the needy family, the community people also came to help rebuild the house, contributing their labor. Now the community is very open to the church. In the beginning they could not get land for the church in the community. Now the church is seen as caring for the community.
