Testimonial

Some days it's quite difficult to comprehend what life is really like for our neighbours in the community. In church today one of the older ladies in the congregation shared a 'testimonial' that really showed just how different life is here.

The members of our church are a very faithful group of people who come to church every Sunday because they want to worship God and share some time with each other. We meet in a small 'building' made of wood and corrugated iron. One of the walls has a fairly large gap in it, (which is good because it let's the breeze in). It's a very simple, honest structure and perfectly fits the group of people who meet there on Sunday and during the week for bible study and fellowship.

Before the sermon whoever is leading the service encourages church members to share any testimonials they have. Today one lady's testimonial really moved me. The lady explained that she had been suffering from some serious disturbances and problems in her life, and asked the church members if they would pray for her. She went on to explain two of her problems. The lady at one time had a sheep and two goats, a she goat and a kid. The she goat got sick and died, despite being treated by the vet. (It wasn't quite clear how long ago this happened but, I think,it was fairly recently). As if that wasn't enough a dog killed the kid and had eaten half of it before the lady could chase it away. As an encouragement for the congregation this didn't seem to be going well. At this point in the story the lady said that her sheep started to show signs of being sick. I couldn't imagine what awful fate the poor sheep had suffered. The story picked up. The lady couldn't think of anything to do other than pray that the sheep would not die. She prayed. The sheep lived without any other intervention and the story encouraged us all to reach out to God and pray.

As testimonials go it was unlike anything I have ever heard in England. I guess dogs attack livestock in the UK and goats die. I can't imagine these misfortunes being as 'life and death' in England as they are out here. As you walk around the community and see how hand to mouth most people's lives are you begin to understand how devastating compounded misfortunes can be. As a Christian from the west I am humbled and challenged by the depth of faith that our church members have.