Celebrate with our Graduates!

The literacy students at Prayer Tower Church range from young girls to elderly women. They all have one thing in common: A burning desire to learn to read and, for most, to learn to read the Bible.

Most of us reading this post can't read the words on the board above and six months ago she couldn't either. Now she can!

We'd like to introduce to the most recent graduates of Reach the Nations' literacy program in Pakistan. These students gave testimonies of what this opportunity means to them. One said, "I would sit at home thinking about reading the Bible, but I didn’t know anything about reading. I didn’t even know the Urdu alphabet. I had such a passion to study the Bible, but I couldn’t read it. Then a friend invited me to join this class even though I am an adult. In this class, age doesn’t matter. I am so thankful I can learn here."

Another said, "I am a housewife. I have children. And I have a job, so it was hard to find time to attend this class. By God’s grace, he has given me this opportunity and I am thankful. I am not a member of this church, though I do go to another one. But the opportunity to study here was for anyone who wanted to learn. My job is cleaning houses, and many of my clients are not Christian. In this class, I have learned Bible verses. I now share them with my clients, and I tell them that Jesus is alive."

Here's one more testimony, "I thought many times about how I could learn to read. Then God opened this opportunity to learn, and I am thankful to Jesus. It has not been easy, though, as it is a 1 ½ hour drive from my home to this class. I have to take buses each day to get to class, but that is how much I wanted to learn to read."

We remain grateful to Zarish who not only teaches this class, but also is teaching a class of graduates who are learning to read the Bible together. She also oversees two other RTN literacy locations and teachers in Islamabad. She and her husband, Pastor Babar, graciously host these graduations at their church. And we are thankful for Manzoor and Pastor Rashid (not pictured) who faithfully support this program with their presence and encouragement.

Pray that these graduates will continue to improve their reading and writing skills and will find new opportunities for jobs, for teaching their own families, and for serving God.

"For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen." - Romans 11:36