We received encouraging news from our partners in India today. Like the rest of the world, the pandemic has a great impact in India, but they testify how God had already prepared them for it although they were unaware.

In the past few years, they had done a lot of training in sustainable farming and aquaponics. Many villages had been set up with these agricultural projects, with the purpose of helping people to get a reliable source of nutrition. Now that access to the cities is often cut off, these thriving projects keep remote communities fed. They also provide for the needs of local evangelists, so they do not have to depend on funding from abroad. This is very important, because sending money to India is very difficult both for political reasons, and more recently, because of travel restrictions.

Our partners have also focussed on skills training, so people could earn a living. Sewing is one of the skills taught in their training school. But unexpectedly sewing has become an important skill in fighting this pandemic, now that hundreds of millions of people need face masks. Disposable ones are hard to get and expensive. Our partners have taken up the challenge and used donated bedsheets to make thousands of reusable facemasks, some very colorful! They will be distributed in different areas, where people cannot be in public places without a mask.

We thank God for leading our partners in investing in projects that are life-saving and life-sustaining in this challenging time. We pray God will amplify their testimony in this period, so many may see the goodness of God in their lives and open their hearts to the truth.

They summarized their report with the words of Psalm 4, a good reminder for all of us.

“You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
 In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”