It was a blustery 50-something-degree day in the Cholistan or desert region of the Reham Yar Khan district in the southern tip of Pakistan.
A group of men, a few women, and some children crowded underneath and around the porch of a tiny cottage made of mud bricks that squatted almost alone under the expansive grey sky.
High above the roof, a small Pakistan flag attached to a long wooden pole whipped in the wind. A low wall made of mud bricks surrounded the cottage, forming a large courtyard.
A large blue tank sat atop a round, flat pedestal of mud in front of the building. The tank is fed by a well that is the community’s water source.
Mud bricks for rebuilding homes that washed away in the flood are stacked outside the small community structure.
The men’s clothes were mismatched in their effort to wear enough covering to keep warm on the cold day. Many children wore tattered and ripped clothing and lacked shoes. Their bare feet must have been like ice cubes on the chilled ground.
It was evident that they had worn the same clothes for many days.
The rag-tag group was listening with interest to a fellow Pakistani from another part of the country. He stood next to a collection of 45 plastic bags containing basic food supplies.
His name was Abid, and he was explaining to them why he and the volunteers with him had come to Reham Yar Khan.
“We are here because Jesus sent us. You must know Him. He is the provider and has provided this food for you,” he said.
“We are here because Jesus sent us. You must know Him. He is the provider and has provided this food for you,” Abid says.
Abid is an ex-math teacher who the Lord led to cross paths with ITMI’s Steve Evers.
Since 2020, the two met regularly to study the Bible using the Seven Areas of Life Training (SALT) material, a counseling, and discipleship program that Steve found to be highly effective in communicating the Gospel and Biblical principles for following Jesus.
Now Abid teaches it to others in Pakistan.
Abid teaches a SALT lesson.
In December, Abid took a team of believing volunteers to provide bags of food for the families affected by the flood.
The people living in this rural area are very poor.
They build their homes out of mud bricks, each brick weighing about 44 lbs. There is no electricity, so it gets very dark.
Most of the mud homes were completely washed away by the water that flooded out of the Indus river during the rainy season, which brought unprecedented surges down the Indus River at the end of 2022.
By December, they had begun making more bricks to rebuild what had washed away. Neat rows and stacks of bricks sat outside the low wall around the community cottage.
Rows of bricks prepared for rebuilding homes for families whose mud homes washed away in the flood.
The people of this area are Muslim or Hindu in title, but their isolated location means they are disconnected from the centers of those faiths and don’t know much about the doctrines.
“They don’t know much of what is written in the Quran,” Abid said.
As Abid handed the bags of food to a member of each household, their joy at receiving the simple gift was evident.
One elderly man of Muslim faith responded, “Your love is great,” and another said, “You have shared great love with us.”
In addition to those who called themselves Muslim or Hindu, a few of those present were people who had made a decision to follow Jesus in 2022.
Zeeshen was one of those who accepted the Lord Jesus as His Savior in 2022. His sister also decided to follow Jesus in 2022.
New believer, Zeeshen, with the red cross on this jacket, receives a bag of food.
Zeeshen's sister, also a new believer.
When he found out that Zeeshen had some education, a rare resource for people living in this area, Abid had an idea.
He embedded continued discipleship in the community by suggesting that Zeeshen teach some of the kids in the area educational basics like counting and the alphabet since school is not available to them.
Zeeshen meets with about 20 kids every few days to teach them.
While he was there, Abid showed Zeeshen how to teach the kids one Christian song. He has kept in touch with the new believer and voluntary teacher since his visit to Reham Yar Khan.
In the coming weeks, Abid hopes to disciple Zeeshen to show him how to add Bible stories to his grass-roots preschool’s curriculum so disciples can begin to multiply in this community!
