A Father’s Fight Against Fatigue

Man happy to have a bicycle he received through GFA World.
Like this man pictured, Madock can more easily make a living for his family through the gift of a bicycle, which staved off the exhaustion suffered from constantly walking.

Madock was a busy man. A daily laborer by trade, the 32-year-old father of three walked three miles to work every day. Every morning, he awoke early, hauling his tired body out of bed to ensure he made it to work on time. The long hours and constant journeys back and forth to provide for his family drained him of all energy. With each passing day, Madock found it more and more difficult to keep up with the demands of his labor.

The Encroaching Exhaustion

A year prior, Madock’s mother had been sick with an unknown ailment, and multiple doctors could not discern what was wrong. Eventually, Madock heard about a church led by Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Rafferty and asked for his help.

By God’s grace, Madock’s mother was completely healed, which led to Madock and his entire family embracing God’s love. The family began attending Pastor Rafferty’s church, wanting to grow in that love. Or at least, they tried to attend.

In the following months, the hard labor Madock performed, combined with the journey he made day and night, took its toll. The fatigue never truly left, and Madock often found it difficult to make it to work.

Sometimes, Madock and his family couldn’t make it to church, despite his desires and best efforts. He wanted to worship the Lord with other believers and grow in his faith, but his tired body would not let him. He also needed to save what little energy he could muster for his job. No matter how much Madock wanted to do both, he couldn’t.

Blessing on Wheels

Pastor Rafferty, seeing the conflict in Madock’s life, decided to alleviate both concerns. There was an upcoming gift distribution, where those in need could come and receive tools to help them in their lives. After consulting with his leadership for approval, Pastor Rafferty added Madock’s name to the list of recipients.

At the distribution event, Madock received a bicycle, which immediately lifted the burden of his daily travel—and eventually eliminated the mounting weariness that had tried to control his life.

Riding his bicycle to work every morning brought great joy to Madock, for the ability to save his energy for work meant he could effectively provide for his family and faithfully grow in God’s love and joy.

 

Learn how you can bring about change in the life of an individual in need of a bicycle.

 

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