If you’re anything like me, it’s super easy to get caught up in all of the injustice, heartbreak, and scary things in our world. We can start to live our lives in anger, fear, or self-protection. My friend called me the other day asking whether she should stockpile food and water just to be safe. She needed reminding that God is good all the time. That He never has and never will forsake us. We all need that reminder constantly, especially when pain and heartbreak touch our own lives. That’s why God specifically instructs His people to tell the stories of what He has done over and over again (Deuteronomy 6).

So today I want to share with you two stories of transformation and hope (if you need more encouragement, there are lots more stories where these came from!) May they remind you that God is active in our world and that the wheat of the Kingdom is growing amongst the weeds.

A Marriage Restored in Uganda

When we began teaching the TCT Marriage and Family module in Africa, we came face-to-face with incredibly broken beliefs and customs about marriage that even Christians accept (Africa is far from alone in this). Often it is “normal” for Christian marriages to include verbal and physical abuse. Some wives welcome black eyes as a symbol of their husband’s love. Many men believe that the Bible teaches that women are possessions no different than houses or cattle. To be honest, we wondered if these long-held beliefs and traditions could truly change. But God is good, and we’ve begun to hear stories like Sharon and Samuel’s.

Sharon is married to Samuel Wandowo and they have four children. Now pregnant with their fifth child, she gets tired so often and can’t finish her household chores and gardening each day. Typically, the husband would give his wife a beating for not finishing her work. But Sharon and Samuel have recently attended the TCT Marriage and Family training. Because of the training, Samuel realized that Sharon was his helper—not his servant or possession—and that he needed to show her love through acts of service. Now Samuel, against tradition, opted to joyfully help his wife in household chores and in the garden. This family is now living more happily because Samuel is showing acts of service to his wife.

Preventing Illness in DR Congo

Waterborne illnesses and malaria and dengue (both spread by mosquitoes) are very pressing health concerns in DR Congo. One village there was suffering because of a terribly polluted water channel that stunk, bred mosquitos, and often flooded. Two churches in the village joined together to clean the channel—the idea, labor, and resources for the project all came from the churches with no outside help at all. The youth from the churches went around the community calling people to come and help. Some community members responded and worked together with the churches to clean the channel. They then went on to teach people not to throw their waste there. The church reports that dumping is down by 70% and, where people previously threw trash there all day, the few people who persist now do it at night because it is looked down on. Their village now has fewer mosquitos and reduced illness.

In both of these stories, people’s lives changed after they learned the truth that God cares about every area of life. He wants good for our marriages. He wants good for our communities. But many people in the Majority World grow up learning that God only cares about ‘spiritual’ things—not their daily needs—or that they are cursed or that God is punishing them. Just like those of us in the West, vulnerable people need opportunities to learn that God is good—not just in general, but that He wants good things for them.

When we pray for vulnerable people, we are praying to the God who gives good and perfect gifts and who plans to prosper and not to bring harm. He is constantly at work, tearing down lies that bind us, weaving every circumstance together for our good, coming to our aid when we call on Him.

Please join us this month in praising God and praying for vulnerable people to know the truth that He is good.