God is moving in powerful ways across the Asia-Pacific Region. In a recently received report from one of our CAAs, observe how a local Nazarene leader saw a need and took this need to the Lord until the incredible answer came.
There are large numbers of students living in the countryside who do not have access to a high school in their community. As a result, many students end up staying home after grade nine because their parents cannot afford to pay the room and board required for their children to live in the village where the high school is located.
Our National Nazarene District Superintendent saw this need in the countryside and wanted to do something about it. Unfortunately, when the concern was raised, there was no available budget and the ministry partner had no real idea of how best to help these children.
The DS believed that the solution was to either buy or rent a small shack in order to house the children near the town where the high school was located. Weekly he met with the ministry partner and they would often pray for this concern and ask the Lord for guidance in the matter. They continued to bring this need to the Lord for more than two years.
Then a Singaporean businessman that was a part of the ministry partner’s Saturday morning men’s prayer breakfast, out-of-the-blue asked him if he could write up a project proposal that would make a difference in the lives of children in that country. The ministry partner immediately thought of all the prayers for the students in the countryside.
The Singaporean had 7,000 Euro ($9,300 USD) for this project. Enough to buy land and hire a Christian architect. When Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Inc (NCMI) processed the donation, they added another $1,000 USD. When the Field Strategy Coordinator was informed, he told the ministry partner of a doctor in New York City who had earmarked a gift of $10,000 USD to be used specifically for child education projects in that particular CAA, and the dorm project qualified. With that news, the building was started.
Prayer continued. Construction proceeded, workers were being saved on the work site, and the Lord was still not done…
The ministry partners went on home assignment. During one of their stops they met with the Canadian Nazarene National Director and informed him of the exciting work and answers to prayer that had been happening over the past several months and how they were nearing the completion of a 20 passenger dormitory. Immediately the national director informed him that the Canadian Church would like to partner with them and before asking how much was needed to complete the project offered to cover the remaining costs of $12,000.
Meanwhile, the Singaporean’s company took an “in house collection” for furniture and plants. By the time the ministry partners returned from home assignment to the CAA the dormitory was fully furnished, fully landscaped and fully paid for, all of this within the space of six months.
“When we were in a place where we did not know what to do, the Lord heard our prayers and came to our rescue. Everything we needed came in by the time we were finished with the building, before we even had time to ask anyone for money! It was truly a gift of God to meet the need,” testifies the leadership.
And from the national DS: “We asked for silver, but the Lord gave us gold.”
~Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2~
