The money wasn’t enough; it had never been enough. Pelham, a 37-year-old father of four, worked hard to provide for his family, but it seemed like his earnings from farming and daily wage labor was never sufficient for their needs.
A Pastor’s Intervention
Then, the family happened to meet Gospel for Asia (GFA World) pastor Shaughan. As he got to know the family, the pastor grew more aware of poverty’s grip on them. He saw the hard work Pelham undertook just to keep the six of them alive. And Pelham’s family wasn’t the only one suffering.
In Pastor Shaughan’s area, five separate villages all had families facing debilitating poverty. The circumstances might differ from family to family, but the situation was the same: seemingly unending poverty without hope to overcome it. Fortunately, Pastor Shaughan had the tools to help.
Along with 30 other families from the surrounding villages, Pelham received an invitation to a Christmas gift distribution. He had been chosen to receive a pair of pigs. With such news, Pelham must have felt enormous joy and relief.
Blessing Upon Blessing
For quite some time, Pelham had wanted to purchase pigs, knowing they would help provide additional income. But he never could have afforded them on his own, no matter how hard he worked. Now, many possibilities were open to Pelham, and he knew just what to do.
Three years after receiving the pigs, they had multiplied to 15. Pelham then sold 12 pigs, the earnings enabling him to build a three-bedroom home to rent out—an additional source of income that would drastically improve his family’s quality of life. But the blessings did not stop there.
Four years after receiving the pigs, Pelham’s small herd had increased again to 20, which enabled Pelham to build yet another three-bedroom home to rent out. With the combined incomes of the rented homes and the pigs, Pelham had more than enough to meet his family’s daily needs and put every one of his children into school. No more would they struggle with poverty. Through one gift, an entire family was saved from poverty’s cruel grasp.
See how you can change the life of an impoverished family, like Pelham’s, by giving an animal.
