The Start of Church MakeOver (CMO) 28: GBI Biouti, Nias, 28 March 2015
What a beautiful day! As beautiful as the joy of the family of GBI Biouti Church in Nias, because this day became a new milestone for them. A day that is unforgetable for both the pastor and congregation who have been waiting for a long time to renovate their worship place (which was a simple shack) into a more decent building. On the 28th of March 2015, Anugrah Ministries appointed GBI Biouti as her 28th Church MakeOver (CMO) project.
GBI Biouti Church, located far from Gunungsitoli city. To be precise, it’s located in Biouti Village, Idanogawo District, Nias Region, North Sumatra. The church is under the leadership of Ps. Atieli Lahagu. Together with his wife, Etirina Zai, and their five children, Ps. Atieli Lahagu has been faithful in his calling to serve the Lord. In Biouti Village, 80% of the people live a simple life. They have no electricity, and it’s very hard to find clean water. When they first pioneered the church in 2011, the number of congregation is only one family. Now, the church has 101 members: 50 adults, 21 teens, and 30 children. Most of the congregation work as Farming Laborers in Rubber Plantation and Field Farmers. With low income, it’s almost impossible for them to make their dream into reality: to renovate their church building. Praise the Lord, because God trusted Anugrah Ministries to become an extension of His hands.
The Opening Ceremony was conducted by Alders Daniel, CMO Field Coordinator. Two Village Chiefs were present on that day, the Biouti Village Chief, and the Sanduta Village Chief. The GBI Synode Region Leaders were also there to witness this historical day, namely the Region Chief and Secretary. We started the Opening Ceremony by having a short service, then welcoming speech by the two Village Chiefs, and the Region Chief of GBI Synode in Nias. Followed by the MOU (Memo of Understanding) signing. Afterwards, we continued the ceremony outdoor to symbolically start the 28th CMO project by installing bricks for the church walls.
These are the things that Anugrah Ministries will do in this 28th CMO project:
- For the 9x14m Church Building:
- Installing bricks for the surrounding wall
- Installing roof and ceiling
- Installing tiles as flooring
- Installing windows and doors
- Painting all around, etc
- Adding 2x3m front porch for the church
- Presenting a well to produce clean water and 2 units of public bathroom (shower, wash clothes, toilet) as our contribution to the community in Biouti Village
- Making over the pastoral home
Praise the Lord, we hope this project will go on smoothly for the glory of God’s name. We would also like to express our gratitude to the partners of Anugrah Ministries who have contributed in this project. God bless!
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Inauguration of CMO 28: GBI Biouti, Nias, 31 July 2016
Sunday, 31st of July 2016 became a good memory for the pastor and congregation of GBI Biouti, Pastor Atieli Lahagu, because on the day they became free from their burden of having a decent church building. After years of praying, God gave them the desire of the heart, transforming a run-down shack into a great permanent building. God is great! The Inauguration Ceremony of CMO 28 at GBI Biouti, Nias started at 4 pm. Pastor Daniel Hendrata, as the Chairman of Anugrah Pressindo Foundation, and his wife, Pastor Debby Catharina who accompanied him that day, received neck flowers as welcoming gesture from the congregation. Then they cut the ribbons, and opened the door of the church for the first time. After that, every one stepped into the sanctuary and was seated accordingly.
The event started with Opening Prayer, then Welcoming Speech by Chairman of GBI BPD in Nias, village government officers, and representative of the invitees. After that, they all praised and worshiped the Lord together. Joyful and touchy moments were mixed together in the hearts of those who came. Some people, especially the pastor shed tears of joy, meditating on God’s goodness. After Praise and Worship, Pastor Daniel Hendrata (Chairman of Anugrah Pressindo Foundation) and Pastor Atieli Lahagu (Pastor of GBI Biouti) signed the stone plaque. Then Pastor Daniel Hendrata delivered the word of God, taken from Matthew 7:24-27 about Building Your House on the Rock. Everyone listened attentively.
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What used to be a shack now had been madeover to become a decent permanent church building. The wooden temporal bench that was already rotten had been replaced with adequate plastic chairs. You can see the real transformation on the pictures that we attached here. This area is not yet covered by electricity, so we presented a generator with 5,000 Watt power to make sure the church daily activities can be carried out smoothly. Besides that, Anugrah Ministries presented 3 unit of Public Toilet (where people can shower, wash clothes, and go to toilet) as our contribution for the community, so they do not need to go to the woods again to do their “business”. We also drilled a well, so the community there can enjoy clean water (the old well produced dirty water, coffee colored, because its location was next to a septic tank).
All that Anugrah Ministries has done could be done by the grace of God. All glory goes to the Lord Jesus if GBI Biouti in Nias now can enjoy the above facilities. To them, this is a miracle, and this miracle cannot happen without the support of Anugrah partners. Thank you for every support that you all have given. God bless every of your contribution. Please pray for us, so Anugrah Ministries can continue to be blessing for many churches in Indonesia. Hallellujah!
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