A Symphony of Prayer
If two of you agree to ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, my heavenly Father will do it for you.— Matthew 18:19, TPT
NIAS, INDONESIA—Does prayer really make a difference? YES! Just ask the excited children watching as their new home rises brick by brick. The children help by moving rocks and making the bricks themselves, but it’s the prayers and financial support of many others that are truly raising this building. A symphony of prayer has orchestrated scores of God’s miracles and provision for orphans in this remote and impoverished area of Indonesia.
A ministry whose original mission was to disciple and train young people in Nias was pressed into service as an orphanage when an 8.7 magnitude earthquake devastated the area in 2005. Orphaned and abandoned children started turning up at Pastor Agusman Farasi’s door—they had nowhere else to go, and he could not turn them away. He took as many orphaned or abandoned children into his church as he could possibly fit. Although this emergency accommodation was better than nothing, it did not meet government standards. Improvements would have to be made.
But the cost of living is high on this remote island—especially after the earthquake’s destruction—and funds were limited. There wasn’t enough money to feed the children and repair or improve the facilities. In 2016, when a sponsoring church withdrew its support, the orphanage fell on desperate times. Agus and his wife even had to borrow rice so the children would be able to eat once each day. Their desperate prayers for help were answered when missionaries Tasha and Jamie Kemp learned of the orphanage. “We had no funds to do this,” Tasha admitted, “but we knew God had called us to this.”
Beyond the obvious needs for food and improved facilities, Agus had an even bolder request of God. He prayed that some of these children would graduate from university someday. Nias has few educated people, and Agus understood that college graduates would bring needed change to the island.
When Agus shared that bold prayer with the Kemps, they started praying with him. By faith, they also sponsored two students to attend Bible college. When they shared the story with a church in the USA, one woman’s heart broke for the kids. She took up the prayer—and then their cause. Through her payer, hard work, and inspiring others to give and pray, three more of the orphanage residents have been able to attend college. The students are finishing their last year in college and will soon be the first college graduates from their village! God has made this possible.
And now, prayer by prayer and brick by brick, a new building is going up. With the generous giving and prayer of ALO and friends like you, this new facility will have dorm rooms, indoor plumbing, electricity, a water filter, and a kitchen.
Your giving and prayers are bringing improvements at the orphanage and in the lives of the children. Only God knows what an impact on Nias, Indonesia, and the kingdom of God these children will one day have as a result. Won’t you join us in praying for the children of Nias and the orphanage and workers who care for them?
Originally featured in ALO Update Vol 30 No 2