A Mother's Appreciation - Testimonies from Our Newest Evening Schools
Just over one year ago, January 2020, we opened ten new evening schools in India. These schools ran only for a few short weeks before Covid-19 swept the globe, and the Indian government imposed a country-wide lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Our evening schools were not able to hold their normal tutoring program during this time, but the government allowed them to continue serving the local children a healthy meal each night as food distribution is considered humanitarian relief.
Monica (not pictured) is in seventh grade. Her father passed away when she was younger, so she and her mother live on their own in a small house behind the Seventh-day Adventist Church in their village. Her mother, Tangamonique, provided a meager living for herself and her daughter by working as a daily laborer, but when the lockdown started, she no longer had access to work. She worried how she and her daughter would survive and prayed to her Hindu gods for help. When she discovered the new evening school at the Adventist Church was giving out food, she decided to send Monica.
Tangamonique was so thankful, she started praying to her Hindu gods, asking them to bless the church and the teachers for the work they were doing to save her daughter from starvation. As Monica continued to attend the school, Tangamonique was able to learn about the the God the teachers and church members served: the Living God who hears and answers prayers. The Holy Spirit moved in her heart and she began to understand that He was the one who truly answered her prayers for food and blessings. Tangamonique is interested in learning more about this true God, and her and Monica’s testimony has become a witness of God’s love to others in the village.
People from other villages are also thankful for how the evening schools and churches have been helping their families throughout the pandemic. They too are seeing the power and love of the Living God.
The Work that the Evening Schools are doing is showing the villagers that Adventists can be trusted.
At the entrance to one poor village stands a large temple with several priests. These priests have not handed out any food to the villagers or tried to help them in any way. The only ones providing some relief to the villagers are the evening school teachers and Adventist Church members. Though they are poor and uneducated the school is providing for them and giving the children hope for a brighter future.
For this reason, no one in the village is protesting or complaining about Christianity, which sadly is a common occurrence in India. The work the evening schools are doing is showing the villagers that Adventists can be trusted. This is also true in the other nine villages where new evening schools have opened.
Before the lockdown, many of the Bible Workers in these villages faced a lot of rejection. The villagers were content with their lives and did not care to learn about Jesus. Because of the evening schools, many of these villagers have opened their doors and allowed the Bible Workers to teach them about God’s Love. What a tremendous blessing!
Thank you to each of you who has given prayers and support to our evening schools throughout the pandemic. Your dedication to God’s work has helped open the doors to make these testimonies and others like them possible. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
It only costs $7/month to provide for one child to attend a JFA Evening School. If God is leading you to support this ministry, please click the button below.