When a Father’s Hope Met a Cold Awakening

New Challenges in a New Town

Years earlier, Adon had found employment doing construction work in this tourist town, work that would help him provide for his family. So, after several years of working there himself and sending money home, he moved his wife and four children to this northern village in the foothills of the Himalayas, about 4,500 feet (almost a mile) higher than their previous locale.

They started their new life beneath towering, snow-capped peaks that glistened against a blue sky on sunny days. Perhaps, in this new town, Adon could carve out a stable future for his wife and kids. But as winter approached each year, so did the challenges. Construction jobs in this town helped Adon and other migrant workers provide for their families—but only for a few months of the year. They had to earn as much as they could in the warmer months and save for winter. Work was hard to come by in winter, especially because cold temperatures caused the water within wet cement to freeze, making certain aspects of construction risky.

The loss of income in winter posed a threat to Adon’s hopes to provide, especially since the mountain area required a higher cost of living. “Mountain people experience higher costs of living due to factors such as heating costs, food prices, and access to public services,” explains a study coordinated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).¹

But it wasn’t just earning sufficient income that was difficult in winter—it was getting through each day. As Adon’s family endured five frigid months, they struggled to warm themselves in a home with no heating system, bracing for chilling winds and listening to their children cough.

1. Gioli, Giovanna, Ganesh Thapa, Fawad Khan, et al. "Understanding and Tackling Poverty and Vulnerability in Mountain Livelihoods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya." In The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, edited by Philippus Wester, Arabinda Mishra, Aditi Mukherji, and Arun Bhakta Shrestha. Springer Open, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2026. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_12 ↩

Struggles Day and Night

The day started with freezing temperatures. Because the tap water was too cold to touch, they had to heat water for washing hands, utensils or clothes. The nights were even harder. In the stone-mud cottage that Adon’s family rented, wind shot through cracks in the mortar.

Since they didn’t have a source of central heating inside, Adon’s family would sit around a fire outside, hoping to warm up a little before returning inside to sleep. One time when Adon had lit a fire inside, his son nearly passed out. (In-home fires can cause carbon monoxide poisoning for families in homes without proper ventilation.)  

When Adon’s family went to bed, they survived with thin, worn blankets that failed to keep them warm, robbing them of sleep. They woke up burdened by fatigue after these frigid, unprotected nights. Even on days when Adon might be able to find work, his body sometimes felt too tired to rise early, get to the worksite and lift a shovel. And his wife and children had little energy for whatever household work or schoolwork lay before them.

It was an unbreakable cycle. Because Adon couldn’t work much in winter, he could barely afford to put food on the table and send his kids to school, much less buy a good blanket—which might cost up to 10 days of wages. And because he didn’t have adequate warmth in his home, he didn’t sleep well, so he grew fatigued and sometimes missed opportunities to earn income that did arise.

One of the hardest parts for Adon was watching his wife and children suffer. The inability to keep warm and sleep well undoubtably compromised these families’ immune systems. Cold indoor temperatures can cause risks to respiratory and cardiovascular systems, as well as to sleep and general health.¹ For Adon’s family and many other families in his community, winter meant coughs, runny noses and fevers. One time, Adon’s oldest daughter missed her school exams because she was sick with a fever and cough.

“I feel very helpless,” Adon explains. “I feel very bad because I have seen how my children have suffered in cold and that … makes me feel even worse. I am not able to provide enough or make my family comfortable during winter; [it] is a horrible feeling.”

In addition to experiencing health challenges, Adon’s family was likely slipping further into financial hardship. The ICIMOD study explains that poverty is typically greater in mountain areas: “Due to the unique terrain and climate conditions in mountain areas, people require a higher caloric intake, warmer clothing, and permanent shelter to protect themselves from extreme weather. … With greater requirements for food, clothing, and shelter in mountain areas (and the higher cost of goods in these areas), the deficiency in meeting requirements for basic wellbeing—and the incidence of poverty—would understandably be greater.” In the mountainous regions of Adon’s country, more than 40 percent of people live in poverty.²

Adon longed to provide for his wife and children and for them to live well, but the brutal winters were foiling his efforts—and risking his family’s health. Construction work helped him earn income in the summer, but was he providing enough for them? Was the move worth it?

1. Janssen, H., K. Ford, B. Gascoyne, et al. "Cold indoor temperatures and their association with health and well-being: a systematic literature review." Public Health 224 (2023): 185–194. Accessed November 9, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.09.006 ↩

2. Gioli, Giovanna, Ganesh Thapa, Fawad Khan, et al. "Understanding and Tackling Poverty and Vulnerability in Mountain Livelihoods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya." In The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, edited by Philippus Wester, Arabinda Mishra, Aditi Mukherji, and Arun Bhakta Shrestha. Springer Open, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2026. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_12 ↩

The Father’s Helping Hand

One thing had been worth it. In this new town, Adon and his family had connected with the local church led by GFA pastor Preston, and they were growing in Christ. Pastor Preston and his family had migrated to the region themselves, and they wanted God to touch the people in this community, especially those who had migrated for work but still lived in poverty. 

Pastor Preston saw and experienced himself many of their hardships. He often made visits to families like Adon’s to encourage them and pray with them, and he wanted to practically help them, too.

One day, Adon and his family came to the church because Pastor Preston told them some regional church leaders were visiting. When the family arrived, as the sun shone over the plateau, a heap of about 20 colorful square bundles greeted them. They soon learned the leaders had come to bless them and other migrant families with gifts.

Eventually, the leaders called up Adon’s wife, Leneta, to the front. A smile beamed across Leneta’s face as she took a plush, sky-blue blanket from the pastor and hauled it back to her family. As Adon’s family carried the blanket home after the celebration, they also carried a renewed sense of hope—hope for more comfortable, rejuvenating sleep.

Hope for more energy during the day. Hope for stronger immune systems. Hope for better health in general. “Because of this blanket … my children will be able to have sufficient sleep at night,” Adon shared. “They can go to school every morning because of sufficient sleep and enough rest. They are warm; they are protected from biting cold at night. They can go to school without feeling sick.”

Through the blanket, God was relieving Adon’s burden about his wife and children’s welfare. The gift of warmth—and improved health—could improve their futures. Not only that, but it could help Adon better provide for them. If he slept better, he would have more energy to earn income through any construction jobs that did become available in winter. “I can get up early in the morning, go for work, because I had enough rest the previous night,” Adon explained. “I will be strong the following day and go for work. I will be able to do my work efficiently, make extra money or whatever money I am supposed to make—it impacts me.”

Though the gift of a blanket may seem small, it was a huge testimony of God’s compassion to Adon. Even though Adon hadn’t been able to provide a blanket for his family, he had a Father in heaven who was able to. “Above all, it also gives me a feeling that God loves me, He provides for me, and that is really a great feeling,” Adon said.

Help Share Christ Through the Gift of Warmth

God cared about Adon and his family. God used the local church and the gift of a blanket to protect them, provide for them and support Adon as a father. “As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him,” the psalmist tells us (Psalm 103:13). The Lord shows a Father’s compassion not only to Adon’s family but also to countless others who struggle to survive each winter. Each year, GFA missionaries give out hundreds of blankets and winter clothing articles to show people Jesus cares for them.

You can partner with GFA to help provide blankets and winter clothing to more families waiting to experience the warmth of Christ’s love. Through your help and prayers, God will protect lives from plunging winter temperatures and aid parents to better provide for their children.