Welcome to Freshbrook Church’s live stream of our Sunday service on February 2nd, 2025. We are thrilled to have you join us online!
We have Alan Martin with us today preaching in our new sermon series leading into Spring 2025 (Meeting Jesus and his new community in Luke 3-9) – Part 4. Today is focused on Luke 4: 14-44.
We invite you to engage with us in the chat, share your thoughts, and let us know how we can pray for you.
Within our service, Laxmi shared her testimony. If you have difficulty understanding it the narrative of what she shared is included below:
“My name is Laxmi. I was born and grew up in a village called Surkhet in Western Nepal.
We didn’t have much when I grew up and I didn’t get the opportunity to have much of an education. Instead, I spent time in the house supporting my mother and my other two siblings (two younger brothers), while my dad worked as a security guard. I worked in the fields with my Mum. We grew corn, wheat, and various vegetables. We went into the woods to collect firewood for warmth and cooking.
I moved to Nepalgunj (south of Surkhet, on the Indian border), and I spent 9 years working for an NGO called Rescue Nepal. We helped support ladies who had either been sex trafficked or were at risk of trafficking across the Indian border, which is open to Nepal. I spent much of my time counselling these ladies.
In 2019 I married Stuart, who I first met in 2015 when he was part of an Interserve team.
I had hoped to run a small boutique shop as Business as Mission to train and provide employment opportunities to ladies at risk of trafficking. We were about to be accepted by Interserve onto their Nepal country team, when they learnt about my ex-husband, with whom I did not have a good relationship with, and he had now decided to get involved in the Moist party in Nepal. We were therefore seen as a security threat to all other Interserve mission partners in Nepal.
Having had a Zoom meeting with the Interserve Leadership Team back in the UK, one of the options open to us was to return to the UK and join the team there working amongst the Nepali community who have made their home there.
Through my difficult 19-year marriage I was not allowed to get the medical treatment I needed.
After marrying Stuart, I had a miscarriage in January 2020. It was only then having had tests they noticed I was passing a bit of protein. This led to blood tests and scans which revealed chronic kidney disease, and the doctors said I had had the disease for many years. In Nepal it was diagnosed as Stage 2 to 3, However having received treatment in the UK we were shocked to discover it was actually Stage 4.
God has had his hand in this as it says in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’
Last summer my kidney function had dropped to 9%. I had been added to the shared living donor pairing scheme, with my mother-in-law donating one of her kidneys, the first time of trying they found a perfect match for me. The consultant said that this does not normally happen. Later he said that this was perfect timing!
Stuart and I are now working with the Nepali churches in the UK, currently focusing on Swindon, Oxford, and Reading. We are involved in fellowship groups, and I am doing counselling, and supported Stuart to deliver safeguarding training. I am planning to start a craft group amongst the ladies at a church in Reading. Stuart is using his IT skills to support the churches with such things as websites and will be arranging computer classes to members of a church in Reading. Having got three churches up to speed with safeguarding and DBS Stuart wants to reach out to other churches who haven’t yet got anything in place.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak to you.”
If you are new to Freshbrook Church, we would love to connect with you! Please visit our website for more information: https://www.freshbrook.org
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Thank you for joining us today. May God bless you as we worship together!