Mission Moments: COVID-19 Relief

Pandemic S.O.S.

Responding to coronavirus around the Climbing For Christ world

By Gary Fallesen, founding president, Climbing For Christ

Thursday, Dec. 24

The church at Savane Zombi, Haiti receiving COVID-19 relief. (Photo by C4CNG)

Climbing For Christ’s New Generation (Haiti) took a third and final mission trip to Savane Zombi, a village southeast of Port-au-Prince, where the Gospel was shared with many “people (who) are bound by the spirit of the devil,” according to C4CNG leader Gilbert Lindor. “Many mocked us while we preached. But we had the faith to proclaim the Word of freedom until a man decided to come closer to accept Christ. Then we prayed or many sick people and sowed the seeds.”

The five-person team also distributed food to 50 families through COVID-19 relief provided by C4C. They delivered rice, spaghetti, macaroni, and cooking oil. Another $600 USD was sent to Hispaniola this month, bringing to $12,450 distributed in Haiti and the Dominican Republic since May.

The trip was also marred by transportation scares: On the way to Savane Zombi, the bus Gilbert was riding had two tires blow out, the brakes failed, and a fire broke out. “The passengers were very scared by what was happening,” Gilbert reported. “They all ran away, leaving their belongings on the bus. But thank God there was no injury.” After that, Gilbert took a motorbike the rest of the way. On the drive back, the team came across “a missionary vehicle accident” off the road. “But no one was harmed,” Gilbert said. “Give thanks to God because He was with them!” 

Wednesday, Dec. 23

Beds and bedding set up outside a brick factory, where Save Pakistan delivered them for the children standing nearby. (Photo by Save Pakistan)

A recently freed child, eight-year-old Matthew, told Climbing For Christ member and ministry partner Haseeb about children forced to work in brick factories who needed bedding and winter clothing. He described how slaves were made to sleep on cold concrete floors.

Climbing For Christ responded by sending $1,000 USD in COVID-19 relief funds to purchase 10 beds, sheets, blankets, pillows, and warm clothes for 20 children.

“We requested the (brick factory) owner let us give the beds to the children because the weather is so cold and the children will be sick with the flu, cough, and temperatures and they could not work in that condition,” said Najeeb, Haseeb’s brother and co-worker in Save Pakistan ministries. “So, he agreed to allow us.”

Haseeb, who dubbed this operation the “CHRISTmas Project in Pakistan,” said the delivery of these items “was the biggest surprise for (the children) and they are so excited and happy to see their new beds and clothes.

“I felt the reason for their happiness was that someone cares for them. I told them that this is the CHRISTmas gift that came through C4C.”

Wednesday, Dec. 16

Praying for COVID-19 relief in northern India. (Photo provided by Rohit Mattoo)

My sleeve is rolled up and I am counting the days until I can get the COVID-19 vaccine. It is our “COVID passport” to return to the mission field.

We have watched, waited, and prayed for the approval of a coronavirus vaccine, which occurred in recent days. There was an immediate feeling of relief and renewed hope.

But for many COVID-19 has produced nothing but hopelessness. Several countries, including Nepal, have reported more suicides than COVID deaths since the pandemic began.

“Many people lost jobs, loved ones, and (their) mental health,” said Pastor Tej Rokka, a long-time Climbing For Christ member and ministry partner in Nepal. He said “several pastors, their wives, and believers” are counted among the nearly 1,700 lives lost to COVID. But more than 3,000 people have killed themselves. “Christians are dependent on God and praying seriously. But non-Christians, they don’t have such hope.

“I am fine, and I got strength from the Lord so that I am able to help others,” Tej added. “I am thankful to all my friends, like you, who stood by my side during this pandemic. I praise God for everything. Now I am ready to declare the victory through the CHRISTmas message. Please join with me in prayer. There is a great harvest.”

Generosity during the pandemic – thinking of others rather than ourselves (starting with the wearing of masks and following prescribed social distancing suggestions) – has opened the door to a powerful witness. Jesus cares. Christ followers reflect His love for all people.

We continue to provide COVID-19 relief through our Kingdom workers and ministry partners in 10 countries. More than $68,500 in COVID aid has been sent to date.

Some recent work:

• In India, Rohit Mattoo distributed grocery kits to 44 families and delivered 100 bags of cement to a pastor who has been struggling to finish the construction of his church at the intersection of three of India’s northern states – Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu.
• In Pakistan, Haseeb and his family purchased beds and bedding for children forced to work in brick factories, where they are made to sleep on concrete floors during the cold-winter months. “The cement sucks the heat from their little bodies and affects them with flu, cough, colds, and temperatures (fever),” Haseeb said. Save Pakistan also purchased winter clothing and socks.
• In Malawi, Pastor Duncan Nyozani bought seeds and fertilizer for people in his church as it is again planting season.

Planting in southern Malawi. (Photo by Duncan Nyozani)

Funds have been provided in Hispaniola, Malawi, Nepal, Peru, and Turkey for some CHRISTmas relief. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we remain hope-filled messengers awaiting our marching orders.

Wednesday, Nov. 25

Pastor Tej handing out COVID-19 relief in Western Nepal. (Photo by SARA ministry)

Pastor Tej Rokka, a long-time Climbing For Christ member and ministry partner, made his first trip since the onset of the pandemic and traveled to Nepal’s Western Region. “We baptized 14 people, had a seminar where 36 pastors and believers attended, and distributed relief help to 40 families, which means 200 lives directly benefitted,” Tej reported.

Tej has received $7,100 USD of the $15,200 in COVID-19 relief distributed by Climbing For Christ in Nepal. His SARA (Savior Alone Redeems Asians) ministry also receives monthly support from C4C for the work of his church, radio ministry, and Children’s Home. “In the midst of the pandemic, the radio ministry is being effective to speak the Gospel,” Tej said.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Fadhil Hilonga, center, with other Kilimanjaro guides and porters, receiving COVID-19 relief. (Photo by Dauson Chonjo)

For those “depending on the mountain,” it has been a season of discontent.

Travel and tourism are but a memory. Guides and porters working on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mulanje Massif in Malawi find themselves going without. Without work, without pay, without food. There was a time when they took a bag of flour for granted. Not now.

As additional COVID-19 relief was delivered among them, they said the realize how blessed they are to have basic necessities: flour, maize, rice, sugar, cooking oil, and soap.

In Tanzania, the distribution of a second round of relief was delayed when staffer Damson Samson’s visits were cancelled twice in recent months by the ongoing pandemic and its effect on travel. Finally, $2,000 USD sent through a friend and guide reached our Kilimanjaro Chapter leaders. They prepared goods to be given to 61 guides and porters.

Fadhil Hilonga, one of the many men who works on the mountain and thanks God for how C4C’s spiritual training changed his life from drunkenness to being happily married, “appreciated Climbing For Christ considering us for a second (COVID-19 relief).”

“The support given has brought much joy to the lives of these brothers as they were going through the hard time since the pandemic started,” Damson said.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of “The story of ‘dying Mary’” and COVID-19 relief delivered to 333 widows in Malawi.

Friday, Oct. 30

The people of Kalmette receiving food. (Photo by C4CNG)

The young members of Climbing For Christ’s New Generation (Haiti) are thankful for the trust put in them to bless others. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, C4CNG has received $11,850 USD to fund the distribution of food and assistance in Haiti and among Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. Most recently, they used $4,000 to provide food for 146 families in the four villages where Climbing For Christ supports schools – Gentilhomme, Malasi, Kalmette, and Major.

“For my part,” New Generation leader Gilbert Lindor said, “I have no word (to express) gratitude to God or C4C for giving us the opportunity to feed more than 436 families during the pandemic and to help more than 10 families with their rent and others with something to do as small businesses. I feel happy. Thankful to God.

“Not to us, O Jehovah, not to us, But to your name give glory, For your mercy, For your truth,” Gilbert said, quoting Psalm 115:1.

We give God all the praise, honor, and glory for feeding the thousands, starting on Hispaniola and continuing on to India, Malawi, and Peru.

In Peru…

A Quechua woman counting money she received. (Photo by Edwin Milla)

Edwin Milla, our Kingdom worker, trekked into the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra mountains from Huaraz despite lockdowns. “This walk was very hard, but everything was fine,” Edwin said. He delivered sols (Peru’s currency) to 33 of the neediest people living in the mountains. Each person received the equivalent of about $50 USD. “They are very happy for this great help,” Edwin said. “They told me that this is the first help they received during the pandemic.”

In India…

Children are fed in a village where Jesus is not known.

More food and more Bibles were delivered by Pastor Babu and Sister Sara into remote villages in the southeast. Children declared, “God sent food to our families in this starving time,” Sara reported. “We do not know Jesus’ love (before this), but we hear now about Jesus’ love and care and we believe now in Jesus’ miracles. He sent food in our suffering.”

In Malawi…

A crippled and widowed man. (Photo by Damson Samson)

Damson Samson, our Malawi-based Kingdom worker in East Africa, continues to serve the least of the least of these. He wrote a “thank-you” letter to those who support his ministry to widows and provide COVID-19 relief. CLICK HERE to read “Speaking for those who cannot.”

Friday, Oct. 9

Mrs. Kamoto gives thanks. (Photo by Damson Samson)

Mrs. Kamoto could not remain quiet, Kingdom worker Damson Samson reported from Malawi. She kept on thanking God for Climbing For Christ.

“I will eat as I had no food in my house,” Mrs. Kamoto exclaimed. “This is God Who visited us through this organization.”

Damson used $4,000 USD provided by God through Climbing For Christ to distribute much-needed COVID-19 relief to hundreds of widows as well as guides and porters in our Mulanje Massif Chapter. Not only were many fed physically, there were 32 widows who received the Bread of Life.

“We thank God for you people and everyone who contributed to the support,” Damson said about the 48 donors who have contributed more than $67,500 in COVID-19 relief. “Rains of prayers from our widows are showering.

“Let’s wait the results as it reads in Proverbs 19, verse 17: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again’ (KJV).”

Damson was moved by the Spirit to make home delivery of food to 84 widows who were physically unable to gather in the villages for the distribution. “Love can restore the broken hearted, heal the wounded, bring joy to sad people, and provide the reason to live longer,” Damson said. “That love has been demonstrated by Climbing For Christ, through its members around this (relief), even to those who cannot believe who Jesus is.”

He calls our COVID-19 relief preaching with no words.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NLT).

Mrs. Chikopa, above, revels in receiving food. Below, bags of maize distributed to those in need. Bottom, Mulanje Massif Chapter members (guides and porters) line up for maize.

The actions of our Kingdom workers and ministry partners speak volumes.

On Hispanolia, Gilbert Lindor and the New Generation delivered 40 bags of food in two Haitian communities in the Dominican Republic and fed 40 more vulnerable families in Haiti. The Haitians in the DR have lived there for many years, “some were even born here and do not know their relatives in Haiti,” Gilbert explained. “Some do not know how to speak Creole. However, the Dominican government does not want to document these people in order (for them) to have a decent job, allow their children access to education, and also for the elderly to be beneficieries of the social plan.

“It is unfortunate to see the condition of life that these Haitians lead and, of course, that has worsened during the coronavirus.”

Gilbert delivers food to Caroline Oscar, a widow and mother of four who had gone one day without eating before receiving this needed relief. (Photos by C4CNG)

Haitians in the Dominican community of Yaco receive relief, above. Below, food is delivered to Haitian villages by C4CNG members led by Gaston Luis Jean.

In India, Sister Sara and her husband Pastor Babu fed poor and starving children as well as the sick and aged. Sara said they were busy “reaching and feeding and winning new souls and families for the Lord.” They also continued to deliver Telugu-language Bibles in the villages in southeastern India.

Poor children fed by Pastor Babu and Sister Sara in India.

Wednesday, Sept. 30

Franklin Chavez, who served as our driver on the inaugural Mission: Peru in 2011, holds aid provided by God through Climbing For Christ’s COVID-19 relief program. (Photo by Edwin Milla)

Unable to reach those in need in the mountains around him because of government lockdowns, Kingdom worker Edwin Milla asked to assist brothers and sisters near to him in Huaraz, Peru.

“I have been talking with some members of C4C Peru and with some who made a living from tourism – such as guides, cooks, muleteers – because they are going through a very difficult situation,” Edwin said two weeks ago. He explained how they could not buy food or pay bills for electricity, water, and telephone. Services were about to be suspended.

“Is it possible that C4C can give financial help to these people?” Edwin asked.

God provided $2,000 USD through our COVID-19 relief funds to help 17 of these brothers and sisters. One C4C Peru member, old friend Franklin Chavez, messaged me on Facebook last Sunday to say: “Thank you very much for all. At the moment we pass a very bad time, but with the blessing of God all things are very easy.

“Today, Edwin gave me the blessing of God and I don’t have words to say thank you. Only I hope that in the future also I can help to (reach) more people around the world and give them happiest days in this short life.”

God stirs our hearts in different ways. He provides so we may learn how to give to others – both physically and spiritually. It is on the spiritual front that we are most interested in serving. Giving bread is important for today but giving the Bread of Life is vital for eternity.

“The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” – John 6:33 (NLT)

Nepali people on streets line up to receive food provided by God through Climbing For Christ and Pastor Tej Rokka, center. (Photo by SARA ministries)

In Nepal and India, where coronavirus cases continue to rise and lockdowns have become a desperate way of life, God also continues to use us to reach those in need.

Pastor Tej Rokka shared a plan a month ago to deliver aid to believers and unbelievers alike. The price tag on his proposal was $3,100 USD. God provided.

“It was a great surprising blessing from above,” Tej said when he received the COVID-19 relief funding he had requested. “Coronavirus is critical in Kathmandu Valley. Today (Monday) there were over 800 victims of it. Even one of my relatives got infected.

“During this time of need we were able to supply food, medicine, and masks to pastors, believers, the neighborhood, and street people of Pashupati temple. God is good all the time. He has never let me down and never let down SARA (Savior Alone Redeems Asians) church.”

Pashupati is a sacred Hindu temple along the banks of the revered Bagmati River, where Hindu followers burn the dead. It is a place of darkness. But the Light entered there, offering temporary relief from suffering. The Word of God promises eternal relief.

Pastor Babu and his wife, our sister Sara, give a Bible to a young girl in a Telugu village in India, above. Below, praying over Bibles for those who will receive them. (Photos by Suvartha Vani ministry)

Sister Sara Roja was thankful to receive what she called a $1,000 USD “love gift” for the purchase of Telugu-language Bibles to be delivered to remote villages in southeastern India. She said it would be the beginning for many to know about our Lord.

“Some women who received Bibles said, ‘This is the eternal gift to read the Bible every day,’” Sara said. “Children and youngsters who received Bibles said, ‘We are very poor, and our parents could not buy (Bibles) for us. But C4C and Sara and Babu (Sara’s pastor husband) provided Bibles and food packets. God heard our prayers!’”

Pastor Lali, right, with Rohit Mattoo, standing on church construction project in Pathankot, India. (Photo by Shalom House of Prayer)

Pastor Lali has served the Lord for 45 years in Pathankot in the Punjab state of India, along the borders of Pakistan and India’s northern mountain states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. “He does not have a church since these long years,” said ministry partner Rohit Mattoo.

But, by God’s grace, Lali had begun building a house of worship. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck. Work stopped; money dried up.

God provided Rohit with $2,000 USD in COVID-19 relief through Climbing For Christ to support pastors and their families in India’s northern states. The money Rohit delivered to Lali paid for 30 bags of cement. “From our side, it was a little push to get the work started again,” Rohit reported.

Across the state line in Himachal Pradesh, Pastor Amrik Singh experienced the worst of COVID-19. Coronavirus claimed the life of an adult son, leaving Pastor Singh and his wife with three grandchildren to care for.

“Churches were closed, income was gone, groceries in the kitchen were finished – even I lost a son,” Pastor Singh told Rohit. “The responsibility of grandchildren came upon my shoulders and even as we are getting old that responsibility is big.”

When Rohit delivered groceries to the Singh family, the man who has ministered to others for 35 years rejoiced at God’s goodness to him.

Glory to God: Haseeb Masih praises the Lord for food delivered to some of those in need working in brick factories in Pakistan. (Photo by Save Pakistan)

In Pakistan, ministry partner Haseeb Masih estimates using the more than $5,100 USD provided by God through Climbing For Christ to feed 300 families since we began doing COVID-19 relief five months ago. That is more than 1,700 souls blessed with food, he declared. But he also declared to these people where – or, more importantly, Who – this help came from.

“We shared with them that this love and care came from C4C for them,” Haseeb said, “which means that God knows our needs and He always has mercy on His people when we call Him for help.”

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to feed a hunger that cannot be satisfied any other way. “I am the bread of life,” Jesus proclaimed to the multitudes in John 6:35. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.” May those who God sends us to minister to hunger no more.

Tuesday, Sept. 22

Climbing For Christ’s New Generation (Haiti) has grown to the point where leader Gilbert Lindor can be on mission (as he was from Sept. 9-16; see “What price salvation?”), and members of the team can carry out work such as delivering COVID-19 relief. On Sept. 13, team members led by Dukenson LeBlanc distributed food to 26 Haitian widows living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“For the first time, we delivered food to people who cannot even stand up to receive the bags of food,” Gilbert reported. “Some because they are sick and others because of their age.

“The members who went to distribute (the food) tell me that they were very satisfied with the delivery of these bags of food to people who really needed it.”

Climbing For Christ continues to provide funding for COVID-19 relief on Hispaniola. To date, $7,850 USD have been provided to C4CNG for the distribution of food. Gilbert said today a plan is in place to deliver $2,000 worth of food to 80 Haitians in the DR, seven members of C4CNG who are in great need, and parents of schoolchildren in Malasi and Kalmette (two of the four villages where schools are being supported during the 2020-2021 school year).

“God knows the needs,” Gilbert said.

Monday, Sept. 21

Food delivered to the church in Humla, Nepal. (Photo provided by Megh Gurung)

We give thanks for the response to our COVID-19 Relief Challenge. Donations made earlier this month have been matched by a Climbing For Christ member and we have been blessed with nearly $37,000 USD!

We have begun distribution of funds – in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, India, Malawi, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, and Tanzania – and will continue in the month ahead. We praise God for providing more than $67,500 USD since May to feed the physical and spiritual needs of people in eight countries.

Megh Gurung, our Kingdom worker in Nepal, reports the distribution of food to 120 families in Rolpa and Dhading and 30 families in Humla on Sept. 19 and 20. We rejoice that we are able to assist those in need. For the glory of God!

Food is delivered to Rolpa, above, and Dhading, below.

Monday, Aug. 31

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A river of mud floods streets in a Haitian village. (Photo by Getty Images)

Before Hurricane Laura crashed into Louisiana with Category 4 ferocity, it was a tropical storm that swept over Hispaniola. Haiti and the Dominican Republic always seem to be in the path of storms raging out of the Atlantic. Two of the 13 so far this season made direct hits on the island and others, like Laura, dumped enough rain to make a miserable life more miserable.

“Adding these cases (natural disasters) to the coronavirus complicates the situation of hunger in the country,” said Gilbert Lindor, Climbing For Christ’s Kingdom worker on Hispaniola and a leader of C4C’s New Generation. “In other words, poverty and hunger and expensive living continue to increase every day in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.”

Many are without jobs, Gilbert reported, and “others work but are not paid.”

“My wish was to continue helping with food, both in Haiti and the DR,” added Gilbert, who to date has directed C4CNG’s distribution of $4,350 USD in COVID-19 relief provided by God through Climbing For Christ.

Climbing For Christ has sent nearly $30,000 USD to co-laborers in seven countries in the past 3 ½ months. As already dire situations continue to worsen, we have prayed and are seeking another $22,500 USD to provide for physical needs.

We have a member who will match all gifts this week. I am asking you to urgently consider giving to Climbing For Christ’s COVID-19 relief effort because every dollar will be doubled! This is a great blessing and we ask you to help. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to Helping Hands to see how to give).

You may be wondering what a mission organization can do during a pandemic that has cancelled three trips and postponed another. We continue to care for physical needs in the places where God has us working.

Mission Frontiers, in its recent issue on “Missions in the age of coronavirus,” calls what we are doing witnessing in deeds. “Many disciples at the front lines in caring for and feeding the sick and hungry are letting their ‘light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16).”

We have been called to action even when we feel stuck at home.

Widows receiving maize last week in Malawi. Each month, Climbing For Christ provides funding for Damson Samson’s widows’ project. Scroll down for another story on Mission Moments from Malawi. (Photo by Damson Samson)

“There are more and more food challenges to the widows,” said Damson Samson, our Malawi-based Kingdom worker serving East Africa. “Only nobody has come in to listen. But I have been moved to see how hard it has been to these widows.”

Damson has been feeding and caring for widows in southern Malawi since January 2016. We have helped him build homes, deliver clothing and bedding, and show hundreds of the poorest of the poor the love of Jesus.

“It has remained a blessing to bless them as they have an appreciative heart,” Damson said. “I remember speaking to one of them (and) she was just praying for Climbing For Christ and all the members who have been contributing to us.

“The hand that touched our (donors) has also strengthened (the widows’) love for the Lord as they proved the living God can answer prayers and sees the need. Praying that they may be touched again.”

Sunday, Aug. 30

Pastor Babu and Sister Sara, right, pray before distributing food in southeastern India. (Photos by Suvartha Vani ministry)

Coronavirus continues to spread in India, where more than 62,000 have died and thousands more are hospitalized. “In this midst, our villages were attacked by heavy rains and floods and all the crops were submerged and some cattle – like goats, sheep, and small cows – were washed away,” said Sara Roja, a Climbing For Christ member since 2011. “People have no work and especially children and old-age people suffer.”

Many were hungering and thirsting. Sara and her husband Pastor Babu pled for help. We sent $500 USD from COVID-19 relief funds. God turned this loaves-and-fishes support into a feast to feed hundreds.

“We praise God for C4C for the kind aid for the starving,” sister Sara said. “Thank you for all your love and care.”

People line up, below, to receive food prayed over and delivered by Pastor Babu and his wife Sara, above.

Wednesday, Aug. 5

Haseeb, right, prays over food packs distributed after dark in headlights of van at first of several brick factories. (Photos by Save Pakistan)

Shortages of items such as sugar and flour in the local market delayed the preparation of 90 food packs that would feed more than 500 men, women and children barely surviving in brick factories and anonymous slums in Pakistan. “After three days of waiting, we got the food items at double the price,” said Haseeb Masih of ministry partner Save Pakistan. “Finally, everything was done with a great struggle.”

But the ordeal was only just beginning.

Haseeb and his team set out for a brick factory on the first of five distributions of food packs containing a week’s worth of flour, sugar, cooking oil, rice, face soap, dish soap, clothing detergent, tea, and biscuits and chocolate for children. Each pack cost about $17 USD, accounting for the latest $1,554 in COVID-19 relief provided by God through Climbing For Christ.

As members of Save Pakistan traveled in a rented van to a brick factory in a slum three hours from their city, they experienced radiator problems. This caused them to arrive after nightfall. “So, we put on the headlight of our van,” Haseeb said.

The light revealed about 150 people from 30 families living in slavery and working in brick factories in ridiculously hot conditions with little or no food and clean water.

“We shared with them that this love and care came from C4C,” Haseeb said, “which means God knows our needs and He always shows mercy on His people when we call Him for help.”

Distributions continued in another brick factory to 15 more families, a third factory four hours from Save Pakistan’s home city, an additional 15 “penniless” families living in a slum facing “unprecedented catastrophe,” and finally a fourth brick factory.

We have sent Haseeb more than $4,000 to help those in most desperate need. He estimates more than 200 families – a “total of 1,300 souls” – have been blessed by this effort. “Our mission is to feed them physically and spiritually,” Haseeb said in agreement with Climbing For Christ’s vision.

Sisters Sonia and Sonica found enslaved in brick factory, whose debt will be paid by C4C.

Along the way, Haseeb discovered an 11-year-old girl, Sherel, working in a brick factory with a bad skin infection. He requested that we pray for the provision of $900 USD. This was included in a Prayer Team Update and a Climbing For Christ member immediately responded with a donation to pay Sherel’s unwarranted debt.

Two other sisters, 10-year-old Sonica and 7-year-old Sonia, were found and again Haseeb asked for help. Another Climbing For Christ member, who already helped free one child, learned of their need, and provided $1,250. Each of these children (and one other) will be freed in the days ahead.

Blind brothers.

Amidst the joy of serving so many, Haseeb said, “I am very sad to share with you that we found a family – the mother was so old, and her two sons are totally blind and disabled. She said it is very hard to take care of her sons because she is getting so old and cannot work. She cried while telling me, ‘Often we do not have food to eat and sleep with an empty belly.’

“She said, ‘I wish my sons could see and could walk, but they do not. My heart is full of sorrow and nobody knows my pain that I am suffering on a daily basis.’”

Haseeb requested that we to pray for this family and ask God to help with their needs.

Tuesday, July 21

Pastor John, left, receiving COVID-19 aid from Pastor Rohit. (Photos courtesy Rohit Mattoo)

Pastor John from Amritsar in the North India state of Punjab is married with two children. Due to the coronavirus lockdown in India, Climbing For Christ ministry partner Rohit Mattoo said, “they were going through tough times as no groceries were left in the kitchen.”

He and other pastors in similar situations came together for fasting and prayer. The Spirit led them to contact Rohit in Pathankot in the Punjab state along the Pakistan border.

“When the call was made to pastor, he didn’t refuse but rather politely agreed to help,” Pastor John said. “God opened the way and we got the help.”

It came through $1,000 USD in COVID-19 relief provided by God through Climbing For Christ. Rohit was able to put together food packages for 30 families (photo below).

In Nepal...

Pastor Tej Rokka of SARA (Savior Alone Redeems Asians) ministry bought two new computers for the Climbing For Christ-sponsored SARA Children’s Home. One is for the girls and one is for the boys. This is to help the children with their online studies as they as not allowed to go to school.

He also distributed food to 135 hungry street laborers.

Tej’s friend teaching the boys at the SARA Children’s Home, above. Below, an unemployed street worker receiving food from Pastor Tej through $2,500 USD in COVID-19 relief provided by God through Climbing For Christ. (Photos provided by SARA ministries)

Friday, July 17

Dauson, right, instructing Kilimanjaro Chapter members in Tanzania. (Photos by John Mollen)

The video of our brothers in the Kilimanjaro Chapter singing a hymn amidst the coronavirus pandemic was moving. I had wondered why the purchase of songbooks was included in chapter leader Dauson Chonjo’s report on the spending of $2,000 USD in COVID-19 relief.

“We thank Jesus Christ. He protected us from the corona. We’re still alive,” Dauson said in a video. He went on to thank Climbing For Christ for supporting this group of guides and porters. “God blessed them. That’s why they sent us this gift. We are so happy now.

“We bought some things for our family, like sugar, cooking oil, rice – so our families have something to eat. Because of corona, at this time, we’re supposed to stay home. Business went down.

“We decided to buy these hymn(al)s so we can keep praising our Lord,” Dauson continued, explaining about the songbooks. “The Holy Spirit directed us to buy these hymn(al)s so we can sing on the mountain, in the church, at home, in the market, everywhere. So we can praise the Lord.”

Then, in another video, these members of Climbing For Christ’s Kilimanjaro Chapter do just that.

Cooking oil for chapter members.

“We thank God for you,” chapter member Tumain Panga said. “We are very happy to know that you always remember us in your prayers. The situation was very bad, but through you we are now encouraged. May God bless you.”

John Mollen, another chapter leader, said: “You helped us during the difficult time of COVID-19. We know how much you love us. You have seen us in your eyes that we deserve to receive this gift.”

In Haiti...

Slande Duplessy, second from left, receiving assistance from C4CNG members. (Photos by C4CNG)

Gilbert Lindor and the C4C New Generation (C4CNG) team were delivering COVID-19 relief when they met a single mother. One of the C4CNG members recognized her as a woman she had seen selling bottles of water in traffic in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Slande Duplessy was surprised to be recognized because she covered her face so no one would know it was her.

“She said she is very embarrassed selling water on the street, but she is the mother of three children and had to do it,” Gilbert said.

Slande told them how she suffered an infection while selling on the streets and had to stop working. She was behind in rent and had little food for her children. God put on Gilbert’s heart to help this Haitian family.

Hers was one of 80 families in five Haitian communities on both sides of the border to receive help from the $2,000 USD provided through our COVID-19 relief initiative. “The support has been a great blessing for many people who really needed it,” Gilbert said, adding that 200 families have now received assistance.

In Haiti, Gilbert said, “Everything was carried out within the churches, thus taking security measures not only for the beneficiaries but also members of C4CNG.”

C4CNG member Scott Joliqueur, kneeling, delivers food in the Dominican border town of Jimani.

As Gilbert went door to door in Santo Domingo, he said “my greatest joy” was meeting a woman, Annet Laguerre, who had appeared to him in his dreams. Also a single mother, with two babies, Annet’s need for food and rent was great. Again, God put on his heart to help.

“Her children are small and she is not working,” Gilbert said. “Her parents do not support her. If God showed her to me in the dream, He wants us to give her support.”

Gilbert with Annet Laguerre and her 4-month-old twins.

Thursday, July 9

COVID-19 relief delivered to Humla in Nepal’s remote northwest corner. (Photo provided by Megh Gurung)

Many of the villagers in Nepal’s Mid-West district of Rolpa travel to Kathmandu Valley to work for a few months in the brick factories. But this year has been different due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in that Himalayan nation. “They have really suffered because they did not get the chance to work in the brick factory,” said Megh Gurung, our Kingdom worker in Nepal.

Some spent three months in Kathmandu locked down and without a job. When they returned home – with no money – they had to self-isolate and quarantine. “They have had much trouble this year,” Megh said.

Climbing For Christ tried to ease some of this suffering by delivering food to 127 families in need in Rolpa, where we have helped local believers build two churches. Rice, peas, oil, and salt also was delivered to 67 families in Humla, where C4C has been used to build up the body of believers from a handful to hundreds. In all, $3,000 USD in COVID-19 relief was provided to care for these families in Rolpa and Humla.

“Everyone is happy they get food in Humla,” Megh said. The rice and peas (lentils) will be used to make dal bhat, the meal that is a daily staple in Nepal.

A happy widow in Malawi. (Photos by Damson Samson)

July 6 was Independence Day in Malawi, but because of the coronavirus there was little to celebrate. Except among 300 widows who received food to eat and five village caregivers who received bicycles to make their rounds.

“There was great joy – unspeakable joy flowed,” said Damson Samson, our Malawi-based Kingdom worker to East Africa. “They had nothing in their homes to eat. As the day of celebration, this gift has really come in time.”

It was delivered in God’s time. Food items such as maize flour (used to make their staple meal of nsima), soybeans, fish, cooking oil, and salt – along with soap – were distributed thanks to $1,400 USD in COVID-19 relief from Climbing For Christ.

One widow from Namata village “thanked God for the support,” Damson reported. “She has four grandchildren who are orphans. She said this support will really help to take care of the grandchildren at home as they had nothing in the house.”

Bicycles and food lined up for distribution, above. Below, Mary Kamtiki praises God for the gift of a bike to use in service to Him.

Bicycles – valued at $750 USD but worth much more – also were provided to those who travel great distances on foot to help their neighbors. Mary Kamtiki from Namata “could not express herself on how much this blessing has touched her. Being of (older) age, it was very challenging to walk long distances to help other widows despite her being a widow herself.”

Gaston Louis Jean of C4C’s New Generation visits an older man in Kamiel. (Photo by C4CNG)

Three members of C4C’s New Generation (C4CNG Haiti) visited the villages of Malasi and Kamiel to seek out widows and older adults in need of assistance during the pandemic. They identified many to receive a food delivery of rice, spaghetti, and oil. Other COVID-19 relief is being provided in Haitian communities in Jimani and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as Climbing For Christ has sent $2,000 USD to those in need and $500 to help C4CNG members.

Friday, June 19

A hungry father and daughter receiving from Save Pakistan. (Photo by Save Pakistan)

The 13-year-old girl saw people carrying food from a home where brother Haseeb Masih and others were distributing COVID-19 relief. She approached Haseeb and asked if she could have some.

“But we deny here,” Haseeb said, “because she was only 13 and a food pack is for the family.”

The girl left and five minutes later she returned with her father – and tears in her eyes.

“The father of the girl was a painter,” Haseeb said, retelling their story. “Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, he did not get any work so he could not give food to their family.

“The mother of the girl works in a Muslim house. Due to COVID-19, the owner of the house asked her to leave their house and not come again for work because the virus could attack their family. Their jobs left and there is nothing to earn. They have four children and they are suffering in great poverty.

“(The 13-year-old) got so sick due to the hunger even she cannot walk. So, I encouraged them to keep believing in God and keep praying. (Haseeb told them) ‘He will bless and provide for you as He did right now.’”

With that, Haseeb gave them a food pack, which would feed them for one week.

Haseeb and his Save Pakistan ministry delivered food packs to 57 families. “Many are living in great poverty and did not have food for their families,” he said. “They are totally helpless. But our God is there for them.”

Since our COVID-19 relief began, Save Pakistan has provided food packs to 140 families. They also handed out 298 cooked meals of biryani, a rice dish that is a staple in Pakistan.

The widow Nadia’s family receives food and the love of Christ during their time of mourning. (Photo by Save Pakistan)

Another day, one of Save Pakistan’s pastors informed Haseeb about a family that was suffering severely from the COVID-19 pandemic. The husband and father of the family had contracted coronavirus and died. His brother-in-law was also affected by the disease and could not walk.

“It was very risky to reach the family,” Haseeb said, “but I bowed to God and asked his power in me. I went to the family with the food pack. They were also shocked to look at me because they know that this is not easy. But I did it by the grace of God.

“I handed out the food pack and some cash to the family to help them and also prayed with them for the loss in their family. They thanked me and I said thanks to God as well as C4C, which is standing with us to support the people in Pakistan who are weak, oppressed, and crushed.”

In Haiti...

Gilbert, right, giving COVID-19 relief to the widow Taina. (Photo by C4CNG)

When Gilbert Lindor received the video in mid-May, he was sickened. A Haitian man living in the Dominican Republic hanged himself because he was out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and he could not feed his family.

“It hurt a lot to see him,” said Gilbert, who reached out to the man’s widow, named Taina, who has two children, ages 11 and 12.

Gilbert used COVID-19 relief to help this family. “When I gave her the envelope with support, she did not stop smiling,” Gilbert said. “She said that she never thought that she could receive such great support.

We also were able to help eight C4C New Generation members who were in need. “We have many students (in C4CNG) who are going through very difficult situations here in the DR because the vast majority study with the support of (family),” Gilbert said. “But many of their families have been fired from their jobs.”

A single mother of three children who was helped previously during a C4CNG food distribution joined the New Generation. “I have always told everyone, being a member of C4CNG is something voluntary and it is for people who feel called to serve,” Gilbert said. “I am not forcing anyone to be part of C4CNG, so I pray a lot that those who come will be sent by God and those who were not sent by God will be removed by Him.”

In all of this, Gilbert said “we see the fulfillment of 2 Corinthians 9:13-14”: “As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”

Thursday, June 11

Kilimanjaro Chapter members.

I must confess that when I learned that each of our Mulanje Massif Chapter guides and porters in Malawi had received only $15 USD, I was disappointed. “Fifteen dollars doesn’t seem like much,” I said to co-laborer Damson Samson, who delivered the COVID-19 relief we had sent to our brothers in Christ.

“Fifteen dollars is not all that much,” Damson agreed, “but they can manage to buy food for a few days. And being a blessing, it has really been appreciated.”

One week later, this scene repeated itself. This time each of our Kilimanjaro Chapter guides and porters in Tanzania received $17.31 USD.

I watched videos Damson sent me. Dauson Chonjo, a Kilimanjaro Chapter leader who I have known since 2008, spoke: “We’re so happy to receive this gift from our president of Climbing For Christ through the connection with Damson, the missionary from Malawi. We know now God knows us. There is a connection. Jesus Christ is the head and we are the cells and tissues and organs. We’re so happy to receive this. It will help us to buy cooking oil, sugar, rice, and some meat. It will help our families. God is so graceful and helpful. As we have been praying for Climbing For Christ in the world, we know these are the answers from our God. All of us will be praying more for them so they can grow in our flesh and in our spirit.”

Others spoke as well. Laurent Mbuya thanked God “for keeping us alive.” Fadhil Hilonga thanked the Lord for helping them. “We’re very happy to receive this,” Fadhil said.

But it was only about $17 per person, I lamented to Damson. “It seems so small. Like the $15 to the Mulanje members. How can so little help?” I asked.

“But this is not small,” Damson said, “especially in this time where there is great need. Thanks for the support.”

Where I come from $15 buys lunch at Chick-fil-A and $17 buys a pizza. Across the sea, my brothers are struggling to pay their rent and put food on the table for their families. This pains me.

COVID-19’s casualties far exceed the 7.5 million who have been infected globally or the more than 400,000 who have died. The need is greater than any of us can imagine.

Sara with one of her two daughters. (Photo by Save Pakistan)

Sara is a widow. She used to work as a maid in a Muslim’s home in Pakistan. Because of COVID-19, she lost her job.

“The Muslim family didn’t pay her for the work she did and told her that poor (people are) the ones who will get COVID-19, so don’t come to our house again because we don’t want to get this virus because of you,” brother Haseeb Masih told us.

Sara’s heart broke every time her two daughters asked for food she did not have. The brick factory owners would not give her a loan, even though failure to repay would mean the addition of another slave. “Then she decided to sell her body,” Haseeb said.

She stood on a road known for prostitution. “But that night, nobody came,” Haseeb said. Thank You, Father.

“The next day I heard from a pastor who told me how badly she is suffering, searching for food,” Haseeb reported. “I met her and handed out some food and some money to rescue this family. She was thankful to God that He provided (10 kilograms of flour and some money) and asked her to pray that the Lord would provide (more).”

We had just received another generous donation to help COVID-19 relief – to date 27 donors have given more than $11,300 – and I sent additional funding to Haseeb to help more of those in need. I asked if he would deliver some more to Sara. He said he would do it. All to the glory of God.

Thursday, June 4

The little girl in the photograph is 3 years old. She has only begun to speak in complete sentences. She and her family are slaves in a brick factory in Pakistan. When our brother Haseeb Masih made a delivery of food last weekend as part of Climbing For Christ’s COVID-19 relief effort, this little girl approached him.

“She came up to me and asked the question, ‘Uncle, will we die of hunger?’” Haseeb shared. “I asked, ‘Little girl, who told you that?’ She said, ‘My parents were talking that we will die with hunger.’

“I told her, ‘Little girl, nothing like that will happen to you and your parents. God will protect and provide for you all.’ She smiled big and then left.”

This child received one of 298 cooked meals prepared by Haseeb and his family, who faithfully operate our ministry partner Save Pakistan.

“As we got the funds,” he said, referring to $1,000 USD he received from Climbing For Christ on May 23, “we got to know that the brick kiln owner is not giving food to Christian slaves, including kids because his business is not doing good because of the lockdown. Little kids are crying for food and hurting badly.”

Save Pakistan prepared food packs for 83 families from their church and the brick factory. Each pack feeds a family for seven days.

“Everybody just ran to us to get food,” Haseeb reported. “We handed it to them, and they were blessed to have the first bite by thanking God.”

God continues to provide. We will be sending another $1,000 USD to Save Pakistan thanks to a generous donation from C4C members. Other members are being led by the Spirit to help us free more children from slavery in those brick factories through donations to Climbing For Christ’s Project 8:36 (based on John 8:36).

“Please pray for those who are suffering from starvation and slavery,” Haseeb requested.

On Monday, after Haseeb gave this little boy food, he wrote: “Today, Tipu will sleep with a full belly.” Praise the Lord!

“Some people tell us only to give food packs to Christian families,” Haseeb said. “They say, ‘You should not give food to Muslim families because, in the future, they will be the ones who persecute and kill Christians.’

“We tell those people that we should love, care, and protect everyone without judging. Jesus came for all of us. We have a responsibility to act immediately and protect those most in need.”

Amen!

Climbing For Christ has been blessed to receive nearly $9,800 for COVID-19 relief. This has helped more than 300 families and scores of homeless people quarantined in Nepal; 99 Haitian families on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola; 200 widows in Malawi, Africa; 17 guides and porters in Climbing For Christ’s Mulanje Massif Chapter in Malawi and dozens more in the Kilimanjaro Chapter in Tanzania; and 35 families in the Peruvian Andes.

Some of these are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Others may come to know the Lord through these gifts. Most of these people are the neediest and the forgotten – by everyone but God.

Monday, June 1

• CLICK HERE to read “Rivers of tears” and see photos from relief work in Malawi.
• CLICK HERE to read “Contagious Christians” and see photos from relief work in Peru.

The parents of the children in the three schools supported by Climbing For Christ in the mountains of Haiti shared with C4C’s New Generation how “they have lost all their crops and they are sad for the schools that are closed leaving their children at home. Every parent wants to see their children advance in school,” said C4CNG leader Gilbert Lindor.

Four C4CNG members – Gaston Louis Jean, Scott Joliqueur, Dikenlove Asaindor, and Murlene Senatus – used $1,100 USD to purchase and distribute a bag of rice, one-half gallon cooking oil, and spaghetti each to 41 families from Gentilhomme, Kamiel, and Malasi. “The food could not be delivered outside the church due to the number of people who come from other communities so that they also could receive (food),” Gilbert said. “Therefore, the delivery was made inside the church.”

Gilbert was in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when the delivery was made. But when Gaston sent him the photo above (along with other photos and video) he saw the happiness and gratitude of the parents and teachers. “I started screaming, ‘Gloria a Dios’ throughout the house,” Gilbert said, “and I started to pray for all members of C4C.”

In addition to the 41 families in Haiti, 25 Haitian families in the Dominican Republic were assisted. Last month, 33 others were also fed – bringing the total to 99 families. “We thank each person who gave to make this possible,” Gilbert said.

IN NEPAL, where the lockdown has stretched on for 10 weeks, ministry partner Pastor Tej Rokka was able to get permission from the local government to respond to the needs of the neediest people around SARA (Savior Alone Redeems Asians) church.

“We cannot gather groups to give food and take pictures and post anywhere due to government policy,” Tej explained. “We gave help to 35 families and 46 homeless people in quarantine shelters.”

Tej used $1,000 USD to purchase cooking gas for a month, vegetables, and snacks for church families and non-Christians alike.

“I was even interviewed by national television while helping homeless people,” Tej said. “I was able to witness the Lord and His church.

“Publicly, they appreciated how the church is engaged to help people in suffering during this time.”

Thursday, May 21

Nepal has been locked down since March 24, but now parts of Kathmandu are being “sealed completely” in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus. Nepal ranks relatively low globally (130^th) for cases (453) and deaths (three), but the government continues to shut down the country.

“Everybody said your team distributed food for the needy people on time,” said Megh Gurung, Climbing For Christ’s Kingdom worker, who helped deliver food to 275 families.

The Nepal lockdown has been extended to at least June 2.

“We do not know what will happen and we as followers of Christ are praying and fasting and asking God to help us overcome the pandemic,” said Pastor Tej Rokka, a long-time C4C member and ministry partner.

There is an upside to the lockdown in Nepal (and around the world): a decrease in air pollution.

The Nepali Times reported: “On 10 May, for the first time almost anyone can remember, Mount Everest was visible from Kathmandu.”

Mount Everest (arrow) photographed from Kathmandu, 125 miles away. (Nepali Times)

“With vehicles off the roads, factories closed, the air over Nepal was breathtakingly clean,” the Nepali Times wrote. “Hospitals in Kathmandu Valley are usually crowded this time of the year with patients suffering respiratory illnesses aggravated by pollution and dust, but in the past two months hospitals have registered a sharp drop in people seeking treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, chronic bronchitis, and allergies.”

Monday, May 18

Megh Gurung in front of rice and oil delivered to hundreds of families in Nepal.

Edwin Milla, our Kingdom worker in Peru, talked about the “many people who need food” in the mountains around Huaraz, where he lives. “It is very difficult to reach them because the roads are blocked and there is no public transport.”

Despite lockdowns and other obstacles, we are reaching those in need.

COVID-19 has claimed many lives (28,000 in my home state of New York alone) and troubled even more. We responded to the pandemic by dedicating #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5 to raising relief funds to help our co-workers and ministry partners help those around them.

My prayerful dream was to raise $7,000 so we could send $1,000 to each of the seven countries where six of our brothers are serving. Thanks be to God, we received about $7,300 from 22 donors.

The first $1,000 helped Megh Gurung, our Nepali Kingdom worker, distribute food to 275 families through local churches in Kathmandu. They provided rice, dal (lentils), oil, sugar, salt, and soap.

Gilbert Lindor and C4C’s New Generation (Haiti) started delivering food last month to Haitian families in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Gilbert attends medical school. C4CNG will provide food for pastors, teachers, and some families in the Haiti schools that we support. Gilbert also was moved to help a Santo Domingo family of a Haitian man who hung himself in the face of “watching his family starving. It hurt a lot to see him,” Gilbert said.

Damson Samson, our Malawi-based East Africa Kingdom worker, will be meeting guides and porters in the Mulanje Massif Chapter for DMD training. He also will give them COVID-19 relief money to help feed their families. We are delivering funds to the guides and porters of the Kilimanjaro Chapter as well. Damson has been unable to get to Tanzania since we had to postpone Mission: Kilimanjaro 2020 in March.

Pakistani couple.

In Pakistan, Haseeb met a Christian couple who, he said, “planned to kill their three kids first and (then) themselves with sharp blades. They told us, it’s been four days that they didn’t eat anything. The husband/dad of these kids works as a sewage cleaner and hardly earns his bread and butter every day, but after this lockdown this family (was) hit so hard that survival became impossible for them.

“This Christian couple shared their hearts with us,” Haseeb added. “The man told us he decided to rob someone, but then ‘my wife told me what are we teaching our kids? It’s better to die than starve every day.’”

Haseeb and Save Pakistan ministry shared a food pack with the couple.

“Hunger is killing more people here than COVID-19,” Haseeb said. “Please continue to pray for those who are still looking for food and if you are led by the Spirit, you can join us, too.”

We will continue to post updates as we respond to the coronavirus pandemic around the C4C world.

Tuesday, May 5

A Muslim man called Pastor Tej Rokka on the phone Friday night, May 1 in Kathmandu, Nepal. “I picked up his call and heard his cry,” Tej said. “He has no rice and he came from the border of India and worked at a sewing center. But after the lockdown, he couldn’t go (back) to his village and the owner (of the sewing center) is not responding to his call.

“Someone gave him my number and he called me,” said Tej, a long-time Climbing For Christ member and ministry partner.

Nepal has been locked down by COVID-19 since March 24.

“Here, the lockdown is very strict,” said Megh Gurung, Climbing For Christ’s Kingdom worker in Nepal. “Nobody can walk in public places.

“Laborers were thinking the lockdown will be short-term, but it became long. So, they can’t sustain for their families.”

The coronavirus global pandemic has claimed a quarter-billion lives. And is devastating many, many more. It is wrecking the lives of millions, especially in the majority world.

COVID-19’s impact prompted a special Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday (known as #GivingTuesday) normally follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday (read: the commercialization of CHRISTmas) after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is intended to prompt charitable giving worldwide, and it worked last year to the tune of nearly $2 billion.

Today (May 5) is the special Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesdayNow). It is an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

We are using this day to raise relief funds to help our co-workers in Haiti (Gilbert Lindor), Malawi (Damson Samson), Nepal (Megh and Tej), Pakistan (Haseeb Masih), Peru (Edwin Milla) and Tanzania (Damson) deal with the impact of coronavirus. My prayerful dream is to raise $7,000 – $1,000 for each of our brothers in Christ in the respective countries where they are serving the immeasurable need. 

The Muslim man has weighed on my heart – as we are amid Project Prayer: Ramadan 2020 – since Tej shared his story.

“I am praying for him,” Tej said, “and I must do something to help him.”

But that is not the only person in need.

“I received another call from a Dalit woman saying that there are eight families in her neighborhood who are without food,” Tej said. The Dalit are the lowest caste, the poorest of the poor.

We serve both spiritual and physical needs among some of the poorest people in the world, including Malawi (sixth-poorest country, according to the World Bank), Haiti (No. 14), Nepal (No. 31), and Tanzania (No. 34).

A widow in Sakwedwa village, Malawi is overcome with gratitude after receiving a sleeping mat to put on her dirt floor, and a water bucket and soap to wash her hands. (CLICK HERE for more Mission Moments from Malawi.)

“Being in a country like Malawi, there is a lot to say regarding the way our widows are living,” said Damson, our Kingdom worker in East Africa. “It is very pathetic.

“Widows are just left to die – as many of their relatives can’t provide enough support to them.”

There is not enough food and even less medical care.

This is common, unfortunately, where most of our co-workers are serving.

In Pakistan, long-time C4C member and ministry partner Evangelist Haseeb told of a mother with a 3-year-old son who hadn’t eaten in 24 hours and was begging for food. “She met a man who told her to sleep with him and then in return he will give her food and milk for her son,” Haseeb relayed. “She told us, ‘I was thinking to sleep with him for my son, but God sent you to rescue me and my son.’”

People in Peru have been living in quarantine for seven weeks. “This measure left everything paralyzed and nobody was prepared to face these measures,” said Edwin, our Kingdom worker in Peru. “Many people worked daily for the daily expense of food, so these people ran out of money and food.”

Edwin’s 80-year-old mother-in-law was infected by COVID-19, “but a miracle has happened in her life. Knowing that she was infected, the whole family cried out to the Lord in fast and prayer, and God has had mercy and healed my mother-in-law.”

Peru has the second-most reported cases of coronavirus in South American (trailing only Brazil).

In Haiti, there is a curfew and schools were closed. But tap-taps – converted trucks that serve as public transportation – remain jammed with people. “The saddest thing about that is that people do not want to stay home and go out into the street without protection in search of daily bread,” said Gilbert, our Kingdom worker in Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere does not have the wherewithal to handle the spread of coronavirus. Almost miraculously there have been only eight deaths reported, while next door in the D.R. there have been 10 times as many cases of this horrible disease.

“I don’t think we can feed an entire community,” Gilbert said, “but as the Bible says in Galatians 6:10, in cases that we can support, we must first consider the brothers of the faith.”

That includes the nine teachers we support, the pastors in those villages, and C4C New Generation members, such as one who has not been able to pay his rent ($100 a month) the past two months.

Kilimanjaro porter Baraka Membawe and his family in Tanzania.

Guides and porters who are part of our Kilimanjaro Chapter in Tanzania are facing the same challenges. There is no tourism so there is no work on the mountain.

“They are failing to pay rent, especially those living hand to mouth,” Damson said. “They have been calling and asking if they could borrow money to sustain their families.”

Providing for our workers is vital.

Because no matter how difficult situations become, God does not slumber nor sleep. God is at work.

“Today, I went to visit believers with not (being) seen by policemen,” Megh told me Sunday from locked-down Nepal. “I met a guy; his name is Lal Bahadur Pulami. He was thirsting and hungry for the Word of God. I shared the Word of God. Lal accepted Jesus today.” 

Helping hands

If you are led to support our COVID-19 relief, you can:

• CLICK HERE to give online via PayPal;
• Send a check to Climbing For Christ, c/o COVID-19 Relief, P.O. Box 16290, Rochester, NY 14616;
• Text to donate (text GIVEC4C to 44-321).

In Canada, make cheques payable to The Great Commission Foundation, and on the memo line add Climbing For Christ CANADA. Mail your support to: The Great Commission Foundation, c/o C4C Canada COVID-19 Relief, P.O. Box 14006, Abbotsford, BC V2T 0B4. Or CLICK HERE to give online and put C4C Canada COVID-19 Relief in the Comments box.

Photo of the Week: Nepal Mission Moments: Malawi