Reflection – Fatima Obaid

Mr. Anser, what I am writing here is what I wanted to share today in school but time did not permit it.

A school is recognized by the way the school community behaves and interacts with each other and with other people. On entering the school premisis we were greeted very warmly first by a group of girls who were sitting under the shade next to the gate. They all got up and came forward to greet us. As we moved towards the school building a group of smartly dressed boys greeted us. For me this welcoming gesture did it all. It also conveyed the kind of values that are imparted in the students. Though our group did not interact with the students’ group, but I am sure and from what our colleagues tell us, they must be full of enthusiasm, energy yet composed.

It was the teachers group that we were working with. And yes, the teachers too, reflected the same composure and attitude of compassion as yourself. What was more important for our group was that they were all eager, to learn something new. They were confident as they were sharing their teaching experiences with us and involved in the workshop. It was a pleasure to be in your school and believe me that the two hours and 15 minutes that we were in your school seemed like 2 minutes. This happens when people are having fun or are totally engaged in an activity. Hearing you speak about your challenges and sucess stories was an experience in it self. The work you are doing is commendable and only people with great strenght can carry on the way you are continuing to bring about a positive difference in the society.

I wish you good luck and want to thank you on behalf of my colleagues on giving us this opportunity to work with your teachers.

Regards,

Fatima Obaid

Mike’s Operation Update

Dear Friends,

I have just come from the hospital. The operation went well according to the nurses. Mike was still on a ventilator and fast asleep so he didn’t know I was there. Tomorrow he will be awake and I will send another message after I have seen him. It will be evening time Pakistani time.

Thank you for your prayers.

In Christ

Kerstin Mike

Mike’s Operation

Thank you, all of you who have expressed your concern (and assured us of your prayers) concerning my heart operation. I will go into hospital on Sunday and hope the operation will take place sometime on Monday, 14th November. It is a normal heart valve replacement and I expect to be in hospital for not more than a week.

Please do not phone to us next week — Kerstin will send you a brief email after the operation to tell you what happened. After I come home I expect to spend about a month to recover, though I hope to be back to work fairly quickly.

We have just prepared and sent out a new newsletter about our hopes for Starfish Asia in the coming year. You may like to look at it on the website. Please pray for this too, as we will need a lot more money to do all that we hope to do next year.

http://www.starfishasia.com/images/2012.pdf

As ever,
in Christ,
 Mike Wakely

Isn’t This A Miracle?

Ismaeel was awarded a medal for his faithful services in our school for 10 years.

Thank you for your precious prayers. Ismaeel has been discharged from the hospital and prescribed medicines for one month. He has to visit the doctor again on 18 November.

When I reached the emergency room that day after giving Ismaeel the first aid medication, the doctor on duty said to me that angioplasty would be the ideal treatment. He said this after examining Ismaeel.

However, now the doctor discharged him without advising any angioplasty or other treatment! Isn’t this a miracle? Praise God! Let’s rejoice in the Lord! He is faithful to answer the cry of His people.

Thank you once again for your prayers.

Ismaeel Bhatti – School Worker

Dear Friends

Ismaeel Bhatti (age 65+) has been working very hard with us over the past 10 years. He has been an honest, faithful worker. At 3 am this morning, Ismaeel had a heart attack. He is now in Cardiac Hospital. His doctor told me that it was a severe attack. Ismaeel faces one of the following options after blood reports and medication within 2 days:

1. Pacemaker
2. Heart battery
3. Angioplasty
4. Angiography

Ismaeel works in our school’s kitchen. His wife runs a shop in the school. They earn some money from school, while Ismaeel gets some pension money from his previous organization. He has five sons; all but one are drug addicts. No one supports him to meet the needs of his house. He has one daughter, whom he is planning to marry off.

Please continue to pray for Ismaeel. Pray for the resources I would need to help him and his family financially, ethically, and emotionally.

School Bus Accident

As many as 37 people, mostly schoolchildren, died on Monday when an over-loaded passenger bus overturned on the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, approximately an hour’s drive south of Islamabad.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/260923/six-killed-as-bus-carrying-school-children-overturns-on-motorway/

In our school today, children observed a one-minute silence to show grief, sorrow, and unity with the parents of schoolchildren killed in this bus accident. We thanked God for how He has protected us and prayed for comfort and peace for the parents.

I thank you for your personal prayer support for us. Please keep it going. Thanks.

Unity – Pastors’ Get Together

Today we arranged a Quarterly Pastors get-together. Because it was a public holiday today, 42 people came, including pastors, youth leaders, 2 choirs, and a church activist. It was a blessed time of worship with 2 choirs.

Pastor Khadim Sabir preached on the topic of “UNITY among Churches”. He read from Psalm 133. He was a blessing for all of the participants, speaking bravely on this topic, and pinpointing the weaknesses of the church leaders to create unity among churches.

Harithia Murugan was born in an Indian prison. Her parents have been in prison, accused in 1992 of the murder of Rajiv Gandhi, ex-prime-minister of India. In her life, Harithia met her parents only once. She is in touch with them through letters while she has grown up in Sri Lanka at the house of her mothers parents.

In her last letter, Harithia informed her parents, “I have got admission in Medical College in London”. What an amazing, successful story of a girl, living in extreme pain, having seen her parents just once in her life. She is a role model for Christians in Pakistan. This girl has achieved higher education in London. It makes us ask why our children can’t reach this level when they have both their parents. They’re fed by their parents, they have no pain of being without them, and Holy Shepherd Grammar School is there to provide them with almost-free education, scholarships for further education, and promises of support to achieve their goals. Why? Why?

I shared all this with our pastors at the end of our gathering. I concluded by saying, “Church leaders (which includes pastors, youth groups, choirs, etc.) must show unity among themselves.” Harithia alone can achieve this goal. Why can’t we all come together to help each other educate our children and provide them opportunities to go high!

• We distributed 30 books free to pastors, elders, youth, and choir groups.
• Pastor Nawaz Yaqoob said he is willing to pay Rs. 100 per month for one child’s education. I will identify one student for him to support.
• Pastor Samuel Nazir said, “This is my 4th time coming to this program. I have observed that Anser Javed is always concerned about the development of the Christian community, through school, education, scholarships, vocational training programs, distributing free books, and even arranging get-togethers to help pastors develop their knowledge. But I am sorry to say that our Christian people do not cooperate 100% with him in his vision. It should not be his vision only….it must be the vision of all of us as church leaders.”
• Pastor Samuel Nazir suggested we arrange a seminar for fathers and mothers to remind them their first priority regarding their children….to teach them that education must be the first priority for them. Tell them to live hungry, but educate your children.

Continue to pray for all the above, especially for this seminar which is planned next month on a public holiday. All the pastors gave hope to bring couples from their churches. I hope this will be a big gathering next month.

Please do give for the Lord.

A Question of Faith

A report on the status of religious minorities in Pakistan by Jinnah Institute…

http://www.jinnah-institute.org/images/stories/jinnah_minority_report.pdf

Hepatitis-B Vaccination

Hepatitis-B is an extremely dangerous virus. It’s killing many people around the world. In Pakistan, one out of every 10 persons is a carrier of hepatitis-B. The largest percentage of people hurt by this disease live in the slums. I have seen some die in our area because of hepatitis-B. In fact, one student died some months ago because of this virus.

Vaccination is the safe guard against hepatitis-B. But many poor people do not get vaccinations because it’s too expensive. Some die without even knowing what caused their deaths.

Thank the Lord! Starfish Asia has provided funds to vaccinate for free each student in our school, including staff and their families. Yesterday, 552 students and 20 staff members were given their first dose.

At the same time, we allowed parents to be vaccinated at their own cost. 70 parents came for vaccination.

Thank you for your prayers. Construction of 2 more classrooms is nearly at the end. Soon, children will be able to use them. However, we still need money for furniture. Please do pray and help financially. We need 60,000 rupees (£450 or $700 USD).

Pilgrims of Development – 1 Adeel Shakeel

Adeel Shakeel had completed his matriculation (secondary school certificate) from Holy Shepherd Grammar School and received a scholarship for further education in college. He just finished his final examination of I.Com (Inter in Commerce) and wishes to study further and pursue a career in the banking sector.

Adeel’s father is a sweeper in a company and earns Rs. 8000/month ($103/month). His mother helps her husband financially by sewing dresses. They’ve lived in a rented house for years and to look after his siblings 2 brothers and 1 sister his parents were not able to do much of family development. Soon after completing his matric, Adeel started working in school as cleaning staff, earning Rs. 5500/month ($65/month).

One day, Adeel’s father brought some savings and tells his family that he wishes to buy a small plot of land with this money on installment. Adeel said this would be a very small plot for the whole family. Very proudly, he offered his support to share the installments for the another plot of land. So they booked 2 plots of land. Adeel is proud that he is helping his father financially. In two years, they will own their own piece of land.

Hearing this story, I am also proud that HSGS is investing a lot in the lives of poor, disadvantaged Christian children, so they will be able to share their part in developing their families. I am indeed very much thankful to you for joining hands together with us to help these children get an education. Now they are helping their families in return.

The Lord answered our prayers, having received funds for the construction of 2 more rooms in the school. This will allow us to educate more children. The construction is in progress. We need funds for furnished these classes with 60 Desks @ Rs. 950/each = Rs. 57,000 (or £450 or $670 USD).

Please do continue to pray. I encourage you to please keep helping financially. Thank you.