This time by God’s guidance, Anugrah team was present in a small and quiet sub village called Aek Bontar, in Buntu Bayu Village, Hotunduhan District, Simalungun Region, North Sumatra Province. A church named GPdI Hermon Aek Bontar is located in this sub village, under the leadership of Ps. Makmur Situmeang, and his wife, Arnaria Pasaribu. After they got married in 2008, they dedicated their lives to serve God full time. With faith and God’s calling, they started pioneering a congregation in Aek Bontar sub village, which at that time only consisted of 4 adults and 5 children.
They rented the operational house of an Elementary School Teacher that was no longer in use, and from there they started to serve souls and lead them to receive salvation. They were doing this for almost two years, and then in 2010, together with their congregation, they started building a temporary church building and pastoral home (measuring 4x8m), with woven bamboo on the walls, and tree trunk as the pillar. They received donation for the roof from someone that God sent to bless them. A year later, in 2011, they started putting the foundation. Then every time they received blessing from God, they would be erecting the walls, one brick after another. Years have passed, they kept struggling; there was no sign that they would be able to complete the process of the church building.
Yet, they did not give up. They kept praying until God sent the answer in His time. At the end of 2013, they unintentionally met with Anugrah Team who were doing survey in their area. Anugrah Team went to see the condition of their church building. After waiting for approximately 3.5 years, in the beginning of 2017, God fulfilled His promised to these people who have been faithful to Him. Anugrah Team came back to start the 43rd project of Church MakeOver (CMO) at their church. They became more convinced that God’s help is real.
Friday, 3rd February 2017 became a memorable day for the pastor and all congregation of GPdI Hermon Aek Bontar. We started the event with a short service. While praise and worship songs were being sung, the pastor, his wife, and congregation shed tears, touched to remember the years of waiting and longing to have a decent church building. After the praise and worship, a short sermon was delivered to remind them all not to depend on temporary things, but to focus on things that are eternal. After the service, we proceeded with the signing of Memo of Understanding (MOU) between Anugrah Ministries and GPdI Hermon Aek Bontar, witnessed by all the congregation and the people in their community. Then, symbolically we started the plastering work on the walls, first by Anugrah Team, continued by the Pastor of GPdI Hermon Aek Bontar.
These are the things that we will do at CMO 43rd project:
1. On the Church Building:
Completing building the walls (with bricks), installing the roof, installing the ceiling, plastering all the interior and exterior walls, installing ceramic tiles on the floor, adding a front porch, installing electricity, and repainting everything.
2. On the Pastoral Home:
Renovating the existing pastoral home that consists of living room, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, installing ceiling and ceramic tiles as flooring.
Definitely, we cannot do these CMO projects consistently without the support of our partners at Anugrah Ministries. Therefore, we would like to thank God who keeps sending us partners (new and existing). Your trust and support means a lot for Anugrah Ministries to keep moving forward. Pray for us that this project of CMO 43 can be carried out smoothly until finish. Should any of you feel burdened to take part in our next CMO projects, please contact us via email at [email protected] or phone at +6281977435763. God bless!
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