“We prayed for one week,” Pastor Rivas recalls. “We prayed for various concerns, especially we prayed for all the people who were affected by coronavirus, and also we prayed for the people who are fighting against this virus. … We all prayed for the missionaries and pastors, all those serving the Lord in spite of this coronavirus spread. We prayed for their safety, and wherever they are, that they will continue to help the church and believers grow in the Lord.”
When it was finally safe for Pastor Rivas to visit his congregation, to see their faces, he encouraged them with testimonies of God’s faithfulness. He reminded them of the Israelites’ 40-year journey in the wilderness to the promised land and how God had provided water, food and everything else they needed. “They lacked nothing,” Pastor Rivas told people.
In Need of Food
These stories fueled the believers’ faith and gave them courage. But there were still families struggling to make it through the lockdown. Words of encouragement were helpful, but people also needed food. Organizations were estimating that 130 million people could be pushed into severe hunger in the wake of COVID-19.1
“It has raised hope within us that everything is not bad during this lockdown,”
Pastor Rivas was aware of the strained situations some of the people in his church faced because they couldn’t work; many had been living in poverty even before the pandemic.
Ajani pictured with food he was given during the pandemic.
With the resources he had, Pastor Rivas went to the grocer’s and bought enough rice, oil, lentils and onions to feed seven families. Knowing there were still more families who needed food, Pastor Rivas connected with local politicians to see if they wanted to join him in helping others. Another 40 families were given provisions, yet still more waited.
“[It was] not enough because every day the situation was growing bad to worse,” Pastor Rivas said. “People were struggling and suffering due to lack of food.”
Ajani was one of the people who received much-needed food. The kilos of items would get him and his family through a few more days, maybe weeks. But more than just the physical help it provided to him and his family, it brought them peace.
“It has raised hope within us that everything is not bad during this lockdown,” Ajani said.
“Even though there is no job, there is no work, there is no food—life is at a standstill and nothing is happening around us—it raises a hope within us that somebody loves us, somebody cares for us.”
Serving Others
Throughout the duration of the lockdown, Pastor Rivas organized food-relief distributions. When restrictions eased and there was more freedom for people to gather, the people in his congregation served alongside him to help others—even in their own need.
They contributed eggs, vegetables, potatoes, spices and other items to give away. They cooked food for people and gave of their own minimal resources when they saw another who was in greater need.
One woman even gave half of her monthly disability check to another woman who was struggling during the lockdown.
“I look forward to becoming a help to people,” she says. “I want people to be helped through my life, and I want God to help me become that person who becomes a help to others.”
