It was a Sunday morning in August when Teesha and her husband headed out on a bicycle. They wheeled through a village that had a church building, and as they rode by, Teesha glanced inside. What she saw caught her eye. Believers clapped their hands and worshiped the Lord with joy. It was here that Teesha’s tiresome journey came to an end.
Exhausting Options
In 2015, Teesha began to suffer from severe joint pain. The pain became so intense that her husband took her to the hospital. Teesha stayed there for two days as medication was administered to her. Surely, they thought, medicine will help and this condition will go away.
But Teesha’s condition only grew worse and the pain more intense. After Teesha was released from the hospital, she sought what she believed was her only other option: a priest.
Teesha had spent her life worshiping her gods. If doctors couldn’t heal her, maybe the gods would. But now the priest instructed her to bring him a white hen and a dove, assuring her these sacrifices would appease their deities who would then heal her. But neither of these were sold in their village. Teesha and her husband decided they would take the long, 28-mile journey to a neighboring village together in order to purchase these items and thus obtain relief.
A House of Healing
As they journeyed, Teesha happened to see inside a church building that was filled with believers who sang joyfully to the Lord. Intrigued, Teesha asked her husband to stop. She walked toward the sanctuary and experienced what it was to be in the presence of God.
As worship ended, a prayer meeting commenced. Teesha looked around at the people surrounding her, people who were earnest with praying to God. When the service ended, Teesha met with the pastor, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Udar, to ask questions about Jesus. As they spoke, she mentioned her joint pain. Pastor Udar took the opportunity to encourage her in the Lord and prayed for her healing.
A faith began developing in Teesha’s heart. Instead of continuing on their journey to buy the animals they needed to sacrifice, Teesha saved their money.
“Please visit me sometime for prayer,” she told Pastor Udar. “I really need your prayer.”
After that day, Pastor Udar and the believers visited Teesha. They prayed and encouraged her from God’s Word.
Then one day, Teesha said, “My joint pain has gone. God is really faithful to me and is hearing your prayers.”
If it were not for the presence of the church building, Teesha would not have experienced healing through prayer or have the saving knowledge of Jesus today!
A House of Worship
Teesha’s testimony is just one instance of how the Lord used a church building to minister to His people. Church buildings in South Asia are not just gathering places for believers; they exude the presence of God in the communities they are placed in, giving believers and people curious about Christ a sanctuary where they can seek the Lord’s grace in their lives.
Read another story of how a church building became a saving grace to the community it was placed in.
