Elizabeth squinted her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on the booklet in front of her. The booklet contained the book of Ruth, and if she could only learn to read it, she could take it back to her husband’s church and use it to teach a woman’s Bible study.
After reading a few more sentences, Elizabeth’s mind wandered back to her family and church. She had left her four children at home, as well as the seven orphans whom she cared for. As the pastor’s wife, it was her responsibility to look after the children in their church who had lost parents in the civil war. At 22 years old, Elizabeth was amazed that she was a mother to 11 children.
And she was pregnant with another child. The thought made her tighten her grip on the pencil she was holding, but she quickly stopped and relaxed her fingers.
A few weeks ago, a new child would have terrified Elizabeth. Her last pregnancy had been a difficult one, and she did not know if she and her husband Dominic could support another child.
But since coming to the Christian training center, Elizabeth had learned to read the Bible and had been amazing at comfort and assurance that God offered in its pages.
She quietly recited her favorite verse, Psalms 46:5, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”
At the close of the lesson, the women shared their prayer requests with us. Elizabeth asked that we pray for good weather on Sundays as their church is currently meeting under a tree. She also acknowledged that she is struggling with homesickness, missing her little boys and her husband Dominic.
“I know God is looking out for them, and I am learning so much here” she said, “but it is still difficult to be away.”
All of the women are looking forward to returning to their families and using the knowledge that they have learned to support their husband’s ministry.
Open Doors’ training of pastors’ wives began after theological training students emphasized the need for the equipment of their wives. The majority of the pastors’ wives have no other exposure to life besides that of their daily struggle to make ends meet through subsistence farming.
You can provide training to Christians like Elizabeth: