Blessings at Christmas

There are women in Islamabad, Pakistan, who are reading the Christmas story on their own for the first time in their lives. Here they are reading together from the gospel of Matthew.

One of the students, named Fiza, gave this testimony to the entire class, "I could not read and write Urdu language, but now I can. It’s been made possible by this literacy class. I'm thankful to Jesus and my teacher. Now I read the Bible with my family members at my home."

We have some new pictures from the women who are having the opportunity to learn to read. The current class is pictured below.

This month they had a Christmas celebration, including a cake ceremony, as they looked forward to a break in their class meetings until after the first of the year.

Our teacher, Zarish, is on the left and is shown with one of her students and the celebratory cake.

God is using Zarish to teach the life-changing skills of reading, writing, and math. The women, in turn, are sharing what they are learning with others - especially with their own families.

We wish them all a merry Christmas and pray they will continue in their literacy journey and in their journey of faith. God is blessing and is being glorified in their lives.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17