We have a very special young man who is part of our
fellowship in Porthcawl. His name is Kritchen …… No, you will not have met him.
He doesn’t live in Porthcawl, - not even in UK. He is Nepalese; yes, living in
the remote and mountainous land of Nepal, but our RE-vive group have decided to
adopt him. Not to come and live with us, but as part of our family we are
sponsoring him, so that not only do we take responsibility for him to be
clothed and fed, but to have an upbringing that is predominantly Christian.
So how did this come about? It began with a Nepalese young man meeting with Jesus Christ,
and stepping out of darkness into light. Jesus gave him a dream and he knew God
was calling him to set up a Christian school. Well, guess what? Yes, he ended
up in prison. But Christian Solidarity, of which Baroness Caroline Cox is a
pioneer, heard of his plight and as advocates interceded on his behalf and now,
with strong Christian support the school he had dreamed of has become a reality.
‘David, would you be interested in joining us? We are
going to Nepal to give some training to the teachers in this Christian school?’
David Spurdle, a head master in the Romford area, didn’t
need asking twice. He was always up for an adventure. Besides his home
commitments he was already involved with the work of Tear Fund, and had gone on
to take over responsibility for an American charity, Kids Alive.
This had begun through his involvement with an orphanage
in Lebanon, but the work escalated, until he clearly heard God’s voice calling
him to resign from his headship and go
into this work full time. Many of the Apostolic churches UK are already
supporting him in the amazing work they are doing in Burma.
Today we hear of them sending out work parties to
Ethiopia, and other places in Africa, and even South America, but in our small
way we are involved by clubbing together in our house group to pay for the
support of one small boy in Nepal.
His name is Krichan Kalakheti, born on 2006. Here he is, looking
very smart, standing outside his school. He writes:
You can
call me Krichan. I’m in Nepal, staying in my grandmother’s house. (Sadly he and
his little sister were abandoned by his parents when he was two years old.) My
sister is studying in same school, in sponsorship.
I’m happy
to study here.’ And he goes on to say, ‘I love to play very much’
(Perhaps too much , for we’ve just had his school report
to say he has failed in some subjects, but we trust with the security of our
love, prayers and support that we will soon here of much better results.)
It is easy to pray for the whole wide world, but God sees
each of us as individuals, and it is wonderful that in this practical way we
are able to home in on one little boy and know we are making a difference in
his life.
And yes, there are other charities through whom we could
sponsor children, but I have a special link with David, who has birthed ‘Stand
by Me.’
Garfield Spurdle came to take over as pastor of our
Apostolic Church in Ilford, but with him and Sonia came three strapping lads,
of whom David was the oldest. I think he broke a few hearts but has remained
single through the years, maybe because God wanted him to be a father figure to
so many children.
I’ve been writing his story, ‘I only went to Dig a
Ditch,’ but sadly it is not yet published, because David has been unable to
spend time with me to check it over. He is either in Ethiopia, Haiti, Burma, -
or at home forbidden to work for a few days because of health issues. Do you
wonder? I am still praying the book will get published – Have you faith to pray
with me? Meanwhile, we at Horizons have become a very small part of this
wonderful story.
If you are interested in following our example, contact ‘Stand
by Me’ at
