Great Change Is Taking Place in Alex's Community

I have a great update on Alex, the young man in our last newsletter. However if you didn’t read or don’t remember his story, let’s begin with a quick summary.

Several years ago Alex was asleep in his hut when a bolt of lightning pierced his head and ran down the right side of his body. The jolt left him with burns and scars everywhere the lightening touched and caused him to lose his right arm.

However, the worst part for Alex was the emotional and spiritual scars. Alex said that after the accident, “I saw myself as bad, as someone who could not be loved by God or anyone else.” As a result, Alex felt useless and consumed by fear, and began to isolate himself. This went on for years.

Then one day, Alex began to go to discipleship and study God’s Word. He received a Bible and couldn’t stop reading it. Alex said, “I learned God loves everyone, even me. This changed me and made me leave my fear behind. Just like Moses, God can use my inadequacies and make me who He wants me to be.”

God is doing just that in Alex’s life. In February, Alex was chosen to be one of the 192 farmers for our Ginger Project. This opportunity was given to the farmers who had advanced the furthermost in our discipleship program. By then, Alex had been studying God’s Word for over three years. However, for Alex, there was a huge obstacle before him. The nearest water source was 2.4 miles away from his home. With just one arm, everyone wondered how he could keep his ginger watered during the time of germination and when the rains didn’t come.  

But Alex did it! He and his wife walked a total of 12 miles a night, hauling 50 pounds of water for two weeks so that their seeds would germinate . . . and then the big blessing came. A Sunday school class raised the funds to drill a water well and we placed it in Alex’s community.

This story gets even better. After the well was drilled, Alex started a discipleship group around their new water source. Already over 200 people are in weekly attendance, and by all the reports, much transformation is taking place. According to Alex, “The borehole has been the gospel preached.”  Amen!

By Betty Jo McLelland