As Mercy held her mother's hand, her dreams slipped away
Donors like you have tremendously helped to support Mercy and her family! Read on to see how.
Donors like you have tremendously helped to support Mercy and her family! Read on to see how.
Not far away from their residence, Mercy’s grandmother Naomi faced similar struggles, caring solely for Mercy’s 8 cousins herself as their mothers were often in town looking for ways to make ends meet.
Growing up, Mercy had always longed to be a teacher — her passion for education and caring for children was admired and well-known to everyone around her. She had nearly graduated high school and was excited about her future. But when her Grandmother became sick due to diabetes, Mercy’s family had to sell more valuable assets to care for her health. Mercy’s mother, Mbule, owned a greengrocery kiosk which kept her and the four children afloat. But as Naomi’s condition worsened, they paid more attention to her wellbeing until she passed. This passing caused immense grief for Mercy’s mother, causing her business to decline as she no longer had the means or energy to devote to it. Additionally, with eight children orphaned, Mbule could not bear to see them struggle. Mercy explains, “After my grandmother passed away, my mum took them.” So, she brought them under her care as well.
Mercy’s family was under great distress, which only became exacerbated as her mother developed the same condition her grandmother had. Mercy had recently graduated high school, eager to begin her education to become a teacher. However, with the current state of the family, she put her dreams on hold to take care of her mother.
Her mother became hospitalized, and the grief of knowing how the story would end devastated Mercy greatly. As their grocery business declined, their income dwindled — and so did their hope.
As fear for her mother gripped her, the church they attended, Good News Church Of Africa (GNCA) Yinzau, reached out to support Mercy and her family. For the five days before her mother’s passing, the church stayed close, providing everything they needed and offering prayers and support in any way they could. Pastor Grace and the GNCA served as a loving lifeline to Mercy as she mourned.
It was thanks to the Church and Community Transformation (CCT) training that Tearfund had provided to this church that they were equipped to support Mercy and her family as they did. CCT is a Biblical approach to community transformation, serving needs outside of the church not only spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well. Seeing the deep need in this family, Pastor Grace’s church assessed their resources and set forth to surround Mercy’s family with the loving, servant attitude of Jesus Christ. “CCT uses the church members where there is need in the community,” Pastor Grace explains. “They will go to the sick and try to heal them. They will stay with the sick person until they fully recover,” or with the family members as they stay by their family’s side.
The hospital visitations were only one part of the great impact this church had on Mercy’s family, and they didn’t stop there.
Soon after the death of her mother, and out of the love for her younger siblings and cousins, Mercy gave up her dream of becoming a teacher: “After my mum passed away, I decided to take care of them.” She bravely stepped into the bold and laden legacy of her mother, saying, “When I think about my mother, I hope one day I will be like her. My mum was a loving person.”
The church walked with her every step of the way, organizing and hosting the funeral as well as providing necessary assets such as food as Mercy began to pick up the pieces of her mother’s business. The church had learned the importance not only of supporting physical needs, but emotional needs, too, and Pastor Grace explains, “When we hear about bad news, that someone has died, the church will get involved. We are quick to take that as an opportunity to share the love [of God].” By hosting Mercy’s mother’s funeral, they relieved her of the stress that comes with the mournful organization. Friends and the church all banded together to send support to Mercy as she rose onto her feet once again, faithfully reminding her of God’s love, and Mercy’s aunts sent support to help afford food for all 13 children.
The church mobilized resources for Mercy to hire someone to watch the children as she revived her mother’s greengrocery business, and hope rekindled. However, stress renewed when she stopped receiving aid from her extended family and could no longer pay the house help. The church faithfully supported her in every facet, but without the additional money and the lack of affording customers, the children under Mercy’s care were not always able to go to school. More than anything, Mercy longed for her siblings and cousins to be able to have an education. This was devastating.
Pastor Grace and congregants of the GNCA Yinzau church support Mercy through extreme hardship because of their CCT training.
Still, the Good News Church of Africa faithfully served alongside her, providing resources and stable food to keep her and her family afloat. Because of the training they received from Tearfund on Church and Community Transformation, the GNCA knew how to best use their resources to give renewed hope to this young, brave, woman. Through all of this, Mercy explains, “Despite the challenges, the key thing that keeps me going is prayer and encouragement from the church.” It is through their unwavering, Christlike love that Mercy sees a hope and a future.
Thanks to donors like you, countless churches are trained in what it looks like to love communities wholly and faithfully with the love of Jesus. Your generosity allows people like Mercy and her family to see God’s love displayed holistically in their lives. With every aspect of her life touched by the church, she expresses hopefully, “Yes, if I get the opportunity anytime from now, I will go back for the training and decide to become a teacher, so that I can educate people so that they can help others in ten years time.”
The impact one church has had on this family is incredible, and your donation can do the same. Consider where God is calling you to give.
Watch this video to learn more about Mercy’s story, and how her life was transformed through the help of Tearfund.
The solution to poverty is spiritual as much as it is physical. Instead of offering handouts, you will be partnering with local churches to permanently lift families out of poverty. Will you join us?
Tearfund Canada
340 Ferrier Street
Suite 202
Markham, ON
L3R 2Z5
t: 1-800-567-8190
e: connect@tearfund.ca
Charity Number: 108222191 RR 0001
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