Bro. Tiyumba* coordinates the literature work of Call of Hope in Ghana. Thanks to cooperation with local schools, by the grace of God thousands of Muslim students participate in Call of Hope’s literature correspondence course.
Friendships through goats
Friendships through goats
Our co-worker Bro. Abdul* from Nigeria reports: “The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount encourage me. He said, ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me’ (Matthew 5:11). It is comforting to know that persecution is nothing unusual for us as Christians. For we experience persecution constantly here in the Sharia-dominated north of the country. It is not uncommon for our farmer evangelists to have to spend the night in the bush for their own safety when the situation on the ground becomes very dangerous once again. For time and again, terrorists attack the villages of our 45 farmer evangelists. So far, God has protected all our farmer evangelists and their families from death. This is a very great miracle. We are very grateful for this. Please continue to pray for them.
It is a great blessing that we were able to carry out the goat project again last month in some of the villages where our farmer evangelists work. A goat is a comparatively small gift, but it comes with a big impact. We give a female goat to a child in need. This goat then enables the child to attend school: by selling the kids that are born, the school fees and school uniform can be paid for. In this way, the vicious cycle of poverty is gradually broken. The goat project also promotes good village relations for our farmer evangelists. As a result, many Muslims have become more open to the gospel, and many have already found faith in Jesus! I would like to tell you about some of the children who recently received a goat from us.
Life had become very difficult for Fati* since she lost her father. Her mother took her out of school because she could no longer afford to pay her daughter’s school fees. Once, Fati went to school anyway – but the teacher sent her home. It was a very sad day for her. How happy she is now about the goat! Full of gratitude, she told us about her plan to go back to school immediately!
Danliti* was friends with the children of the farmer evangelist. However, her Muslim father disapproved of her always visiting her friends at home. He did not want his daughter to go to the “house of Christians” and possibly be led astray from Islam! But since his daughter Danliti was given a goat as a gift, his attitude has changed completely. He has given up his prejudices against our farmer evangelist and now he himself visits him regularly at home! A true friendship has developed. Please pray that God will open his heart to the love of Jesus.
Abba* was born crippled. Because of his disability, he will never be able to walk. His parents came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of money to invest in his education. He simply vegetated at home. No one cared for him. He had no friends. Because of this situation, Abba felt completely helpless and useless in life. He was convinced that no one loved him. For him, there was no other long-term prospect than to somehow survive by begging.
Then our farmer evangelist visited him at home. He told him about a project where children are given goats. The proceeds from the goat’s offspring enable them to go to school. He had put down Abba as one of the children who would receive a goat. Abba could hardly believe the blessing that had come to him. His mother was also speechless. For the first time, hope sprouted in Abba. Thanks to an education, perhaps a meaningful life would still be possible for him! For the first time, he had experienced love in action – and it had come not from Muslims, but from Christians! Abba suddenly felt rich in life – thanks to this goat.
These two boys are called Sule* and Shitu*. They are neighbours and very close friends. From early in the morning until late at night, they always want to do everything together. Their parents let them do as they please. They don’t go to school yet. When the goat project was to be implemented in their village, it was not easy for our local farmer evangelist to make a selection of the children who should receive a goat . There were so many needy children in the village and not enough goats for everyone! The farmer evangelist knew about the close friendship between Sule and Shitu – and so he gave them a goat together! Sule and Shitu were very happy about this. They are looking forward to going to school together soon.
Dear friends, there would be many more things to tell. Every child and every goat given as a gift has its own unique story. The goats are visible proof of God’s blessing. God’s love is stronger than all the power of evil. Thank you for contributing with your gifts and prayers so that we here in northern Nigeria can build the Kingdom of God in the midst of persecution.
Call to action: With your donation, you, too, can give a child the gift of a goat and enable them to attend school! Our goat project benefits needy children in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
*Name changed
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