Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice – Psalm 55:17
Nothing is more powerful than prayer. Sister Mary knows that and that is why she is such a prayer warrior. After meeting Jesus more than 10 years ago, Sister Mary has shared His love with her community by praying for the sick and suffering. Sister Mary reminds me of Dorcas who showed the Lord’s love by sewing garments for widows in her community. God uses humble people like Dorcas and Sister Mary to change lives. He has used Sister Mary’s prayers to change hearts. Watch this video to see what made a simple village woman become a powerful witness for God.
God can use you too to change lives. There are so many people in the world who need our prayers but here is a list provided by Gospel for Asia to get you started:
Widows. The treatment of widows in South Asia is unimaginably horrific.
+ Abandoned Children. Countless children in Asia have been discarded and abused, but they are not forgotten.
+ Asia’s Youth. Did you know that 40 percent of India’s 1 billion people are under the age of 18?
+ National Missionaries. Everyday people who love the Lord and rely on Him for help as they give their lives to further God’s Kingdom.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God – 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4
Sister Mary knows what it is like to suffer and that is why she is telling the sick and the suffering how she personally experienced God’s power of healing. Is there something that God has done in your life that you would like others to experience too? Pray about it and watch God work in mighty ways. Effective, persistent and faith driven prayers can move mountains. When Sister Mary prays, God hears and He acts. The same can happen for you. Go before the throne of grace with your list and with thanksgiving, offer up your petitions and the God who is faithful will hear and attend to them.
For the eyes of the LORDare on the righteous, And His earsare open to their prayers – 1 Peter 3:12
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation – Psalm 68:5
It’s heartbreaking to see how widows are treated in South Asia. They don’t receive the care, love or support that widows in North America do. Instead they are blamed for their husbands’ deaths and abandoned by their families.
A widow is stripped of her colorful clothing and forced to wear a white sari because her status has changed from married to widowed. The glass bangles she wore to let the world know of her marital status are smashed into tiny pieces. The privilege she once enjoyed as a married woman has been taken away from her simply because her husband died.
A widow is not in control of her own life. Her eldest son is. And she is one of the lucky ones if she gets to sleep in a tiny corner of his house. Can you imagine, you raised your child–cared for him as best as you could with what you had and years later when you are a widow, that child controls your life and treats you like an animal? I have seen dogs and cats treated better here in North America. They get to sleep in warm beds. Yet, we have widows in South Asia sleeping in corners.
Can you imagine your mother, sister, daughter or you being sent out of the family home and forced to work for a few cents a day at a temple or beg on the streets just to survive? This is the sad reality for widows in South Asia. They don’t have the skills or tools that would help them to earn a living so they are forced scrape by as prostitutes, beggars or daily laborers. If they are mothers, their children are forced to work instead of going to school. Those who wander while their mothers work are vulnerable to abuse.
Widows are shunned and degraded. Their lives are filled with pain and struggle. Poverty and hopelessness are burdens they carry everyday. They need to know that there is a Savior who is willing and able to relieve them of these burdens. They need to know that He loves them and wants to deliver them from their despair. They need to hear the Good News. They need hope.
I encourage you to open your hearts to the struggles widows face everyday and to pray for them. Pray that they learn about the One who knows every detail of their lives and cares for them. He doesn’t blame them for their husbands’ deaths. He wants to provide for them. He wants to change their circumstances so that they no longer have to beg or degrade themselves in order to feed themselves and their children. Pray that they will be able to earn an honest living to support themselves and their children. It would be especially good for the older widows to have their own small businesses. Pray that their children will be safe and that they get to learn about Jesus’ love through Bridge of Hope centers, Sunday schools and vacation Bible schools. Widows need to be in an environment where they feel safe and comfortable sharing their struggles, strengthen their faith and foster relationships with other believers. They find this kind of environment in Women’s Fellowship groups. Pray for these groups who reach out to widows by visiting them at their homes and inviting them to meetings. Pray that God will provide them with more opportunities to encourage and share Jesus with these women who are forsaken and abandoned by their families. They have this promise, “I will never leave you nor forsakeyou” (Hebrews 13:5).
Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day – 1 Timothy 5:5
And the LORD shall helpthem and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him – Psalm 37:40
I had an aunt who used to sew on the side and a co-worker who sews her own tops and dresses. My mother had a sewing machine but I don’t remember seeing her use it. Growing up it never occurred to me to learn how to sew. I was more interested in reading romance novels. If I were among the poor of Asia, knowing how to sew would come in very handy.
For the poor of Asia, sewing is not just a hobby; it is an opportunity to earn a livelihood for their family.
For one widow, sewing was her lifesaver. Unable to feed her family, she cried out to God in desperation and He answered her prayer through a sewing machine. Watch her amazing story.
I was moved by her story. She turned to God in her greatest need and He came through for her. As God usually does, what He provided was beyond what she expected. And in response to His faithfulness, she was faithful in returning a tithe of what she earned. The sewing machine was not only the source of her income which she used to feed her family but it was her opportunity to share her testimony with others. As a result her neighbors wanted to know more about the God who had given her the sewing machine which changed her life and the lives of her children.
It’s remarkable how God used something as simple and basic as a sewing machine to answer this widow’s prayers. And He is using sewing to bring joy to other women. In South Asia, there are sewing centres where they receive daily devotions, counseling, prayer and fellowship while attending a four-month sewing course which will equip them with the skills they need in order to have a better future.
Imagine the joy of a woman living in poverty in India, who is able to sell the beautiful garment she has created, to feed her family or help put a roof over their heads. Imagine the greater joy she felt upon hearing those beautiful words of Jesus for the first time through the sewing/tailoring ministry established in her village, where she learned to sew and establish her business – Christian Aid Mission
The widow reminded me that it is always best to wait upon the Lord. She thought of remarrying but decided against it because it would not have been the best thing for her children. She put their needs before her own. She turned to God instead. She followed Solomon’s advice, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding ; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5, 6). Even in her moments of despair and desperation, she held on to her faith and leaned on the Rock, trusting in His love and compassion. And her prayers were answered in the most wonderful and unexpected way.
I pray that we will have the faith of this widow who didn’t cave the temptation to solve her problems by herself. Too often we try to do things on our own instead of seeking God in prayer and waiting for Him to act on our behalf. Faith and reason prevailed in this widow’s case. She didn’t have to depend on a new husband to care for her. Instead she could depend on Almighty God who would be a Father to her children.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you – Matthew 7:7
Imagine walking three miles each day to collect water and the only water available is in filthy ponds or lakes. This water is contaminated with waterborne illnesses but these women have no choice. They don’t have indoor plumbing. They don’t have the privilege of filling pots with water from the kitchen sink and using that water to cook. They don’t have a washer and a dryer to do their laundry. They don’t have bottled or filtered water for drinking. They have dirty water at their disposal. They need this water to cook, wash clothes and drink. This water which is a necessity for them can bring death and sickness to their families.
Look at the ground they have to travel over in order to get this water that is not fit for anything. It looks dry because of the scorching heat. Imagine walking in that heat for three miles and then retracing your steps, carrying heavy buckets and jugs of water seven days a week.
Look at this water. It’s brown. This woman would gladly draw clean water from a well if there was one but she has to settle for this muddy water.
Fetching water is not only exhausting for women and girls but it takes a toll in other areas. Water for the Ages gave these 10 facts on women and water:
Women and children fetch the majority of water for household uses in rural areas. Often this keeps them from attending school or working at a job.
The average distance that women and children walk for water in Africa and Asia is six kilometers (3.7 miles).
Women carry heavy loads of water (about 20 liters) on their heads in some locations in the world. This causes severe damage to the neck and spine over time.
Women make most household water and sanitation decisions, but they are rarely invited to be involved in planning or management of water and sanitation systems.
Water projects that involve women in planning and management are proven more likely to succeed.
Imagine being pregnant and having to travel a long distance to fetch water. Here’s a video of a woman who suffered miscarriages as a result of fetching drinking water for her family.
This seems so wrong. When I was a child and we had a water shortage, we had to draw water from the pipe in the yard. It was heavy carrying this bucket up the stairs and to the bathroom. I can’t imagine walking for miles with a heavy bucket of water. This is not something that women or girls should be doing. Yet the men are not doing it and some of them are marrying extra women to fetch them water. These women are called, “water wives”.
Reuter’s reporter Danish Siddiqui reports that these “water wives” are often widows or single mothers wishing to “regain respect” in their communities. He notes that they usually do not share the marital bed and often live in separate apartments. But even though many are wives in name only, their labor is essential to their husbands: they must walk through hot temperatures and sticky humidity to communal wells, where they then wait hours for their turn before loading up metal containers and makeshift pitchers with water and lugging them back. Their husband and the village depend on them to take on this time consuming and inconvenient task. However, these women are happy with the arrangement. It’s better than being a widow or abandoned.
Unlike the “water wives” many women in South Asia don’t have access to communal wells. They have to travel far to fetch unclean water. Thankfully, their situation is not hopeless. Through Gospel for Asia, women can get clean water for their families from Jesus’ Wells.
Find out more about how the Lord is using clean water to demonstrate His love for these thirsty people by checking out this link. You can help to improve the health of families by helping Gospel for Asia to provide clean, pure water from a Jesus’ Well.
In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge – Proverbs 14:26.
The earthquake in Nepal left more than rubble in its wake. It left heartbreak, loss and uncertainty.
When I look at Drastaa’s weathered face, I see unimaginable pain and devastation. I see someone who has suffered a crippling loss. She lost her only grand-daughter. The girl was only 16 years old. She had gone in to the forest to gather firewood when the earthquake struck, killing her. That day when Drastaa woke up, little did she know that her world would be turned upside down and that she would be facing the future alone.
Her life is like a heap of rubble. She has no idea how she was going to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life. The odds are stacked against her. She’s elderly. She’s a widow. She can’t work to support herself. Life for widows in Nepal is hard and they are victims of discrimination, isolation and rejection. In addition to the stigma that is attached to widowhood, she had to worry about the spreading of diseases because of the unsanitary conditions and the monsoon season which is typically lasts from mid-June to mid-September. A monsoon can seriously hamper relief and recovery efforts.
“As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13). Pray that Drastaa will receive this comfort and the help she needs to get back on her feet. Ask God to reveal Himself to her, letting her know that she is not suffering alone.
Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me – Jeremiah 49:11.
When the earth started shaking, Tarana’s husband rushed inside their home to look for their children, unaware that they were safe outside. The house collapsed on him, and Tarana is now widowed, caring for five children on her own – Gospel for Asia
When I read about what happened to Tarana’s husband, it brought tears to my eyes. I was touched by this family’s tragedy. In a matter of minutes, Tarana’s had lost her husband–she was a widow and her five children had lost their father. He had gone into their home, risking his life the save them.
What is going to happen to Tarana and her children? They are homeless. Their house was reduced to rubble. Where could they go? Who would help them? How is she going to rebuild their lives?
I encourage you to pray for Tarana and her children. Pray for their protection against disease and danger. I read that in the wake of the earthquakes, the UNICEF is working with the Nepalese government to stop child trafficking as the organization feared that there was a surge in the number of cases. According to Tomoo Hozumi, a UNICEF representative in Nepal, “Loss of livelihoods and worsening living conditions may allow traffickers to easily convince parents to give their children up for what they are made to believe will be a better life.” The traffickers promise education, meals and a better future but in reality, many of these children end up being “horrendously exploited and abused.”
As a widow with no source of income and raising five children, it is possible that Tarana could be approached by traffickers, promising her a better future for her children. Pray that God will watch over them. He is now the Father of these children and He will guard them. “…He will save the children of the needy” (Psalm 72:4).
Drastaa, Tarana and all of the other survivors need our prayers. Gospel for Asia offers these suggestions for prayer requests:
Comfort and hope for those grieving
Protection from disease and danger
God’s provision and sustenance for relief teams
Many to understand Jesus’ love
I applaud the work that GFA Compassion Services teams have been doing. They “have touched many lives through relief events during the past several weeks. They’ve focused on reaching remote, hard-to-reach villages where many lost homes, possessions, and sometimes loved ones.”
If you feel impressed to reach out to these survivors and you want to find more information on GFA’s relief work in Nepal, please visit http://gfa.org/earthquake/nepal.
Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place – 2 Chronicles 6:40.
They still hope when they die, that their son probably will come and light their pyre. A son who breaks your legs, a son who hits you so hard that your skull breaks, a son who is willing to put cow dung in your mouth – and yet you want the same son to come and light your pyre. We need to break that mind-set also, somewhere – Winnie Singh, social activist
I was searching the Internet to see what I could find out about the quality of life for widows in India and was shocked. After losing their husbands, they are faced with a life of begging and destitution. Some of them are thrown out by family members. One widow was beaten by the sons she had raised when she asked them for money. In-laws refuse to help some widows while others can’t go back home because their parents are too poor to take them back.
Widows face discrimination and are dehumanized. They are called “it” and in some instances, they are referred to as “randi” which means prostitute in Punjabi. Some of them marry their brothers-in-law because being man’s property protects them from being raped.
A widow is blamed for her husband’s death. “You are widowed because you did something wrong in your previous life: that is the view in this predominantly Hindu culture,” explains Dr. Leelavathi Manasseh of the Bible Society. “So, whether a widow is from a rich or poor background, she faces blame, mistreatment and rejection by her family. Many are kicked out of their homes and left to fend for themselves and their children, leaving them in a desperate situation.” It’s worse when a woman loses her husband to AIDS and she tests positive for HIV. She is met with even more rejection and ridicule.
In Northern India, there is a place called, “Widow City.” It is the holy city of Vrindavan. Widows go there because they believe that if you die there, you would be freed from the cycle of birth and death and obtain moksha (emancipation). It is a place where these women can get away from a life of isolation and the society where they have no place or value. They are there because they were cast out families who don’t want to pay for them or by in-laws who don’t want them to inherit money or property. They are ostracised by their villages. They have lost their income. They are at the bottom rungs of society and are prevented from remarrying. In Vrindavan, they pray at the temples and beg. Other widows go there, as pilgrims, intending to dedicate their remaining years to serving the deities Krishna and Radha.
Life for a widow is hard. When their husbands were alive, they were protected but once they were gone, these poor women felt like orphans because they had no one to take care of them or help them. They were all alone. Perhaps this is why in the Bible, orphans and widows were always paired together because they were defenceless, society’s vulnerable. God wants us to plead for the widows. Defend their rights to a future filled with hope and dignity. God made it clear that He is “Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans” (Malachi 3:5).
While society sees widows as a curse, God sees broken, abused, mistreated and unloved women whom He wants to enter into a loving relationship with. Their families don’t want them, but God wants them to be a part of His family.
Like so many widows, Netramani was cast out and left to fend for herself. “I was completely alone. … No one would give me work so I had to beg. … I had nothing to eat, nothing to wear. I was completely senseless and didn’t know anything. . .”
Watch Netramani’s heart-wrenching story and imagine either you or someone you know lying there, sick and helpless and no one stops to help.
…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ – Matthew 25:35-40.
June 23 is International Widows’ Day, a day when we step into the lives of widows and imagine the desperate places where they find themselves. Some commit suicide rather than face the shame. Others turn to prostitution. Mothers resort to rummaging through the trash in order to feed themselves and their children. These women don’t deserve to be like this. You can change this. Through your donations you will make it possible for local pastors to help widows in need, buy them sewing machines, farm animals, or much-needed supplies like winter blankets, water filters and other essentials. And with your generous gift, these women will have the opportunity to learn about Jesus and His love and compassion for them. To find out more about how you can help, visit http://www.gfa.org/women/widows/
As Christians, we need to demonstrate the love of Christ who reached out to those who were hurting, oppressed and ostracised. He loved the unloved and valued those whom society deemed worthless. Together let us plead for the widows. Let us take up their cause. They have the right to keep their homes, their income and their dignity. Let us contend with those who mistreat them. Let us speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. When we do good to others, we honour God.
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation – Psalm 68:5.
Sunday, March 8, 2015 is International Women’s Day. Gospel of Asia Canada is celebrating this day in South Asia by:
Giving new saris to widows
Encouraging women by sharing stories of women found in the Bible
Distributing food and blankets to poor children and families in the slums
Visiting women in prison and encouraging prostitutes with Christ’s love
Meeting the basic needs of some of the poorest women in society
I encourage you to watch a clip of the movie, “Veil of Tears” about a woman named Suhkwinder who almost committed suicide because her children were born girls. As you watch the clip and celebrate International Women’s Day, find out how you can help to change the life of a woman just like Suhkwinder’s. In a society where boy babies are preferred, the worst words a parent could hear are, “It’s a girl”.
In India girls are unwanted. I read in an article that came out a couple of years ago that a three month old girl died from cardiac arrest at a state-run hospital in Bangalore after battling for life for three days. Her father had battered her because he wanted a son. Little Neha Afreen sustained head injuries, abrasions and bite marks all over her body. This caused public outrage which led to her father’s arrest. Her mother said, “My husband was enraged with me for delivering a girl, He hated her. He wanted me to get rid of the child or abandon her as he wanted a son.”
Sadly, there are several horror stories of baby girls who have been abandoned, tortured or killed because they were unwanted. We live in a world where there is gender bias. As a Christian this is very hard for me to accept. God created both man and woman in His image. Little girls are as precious in His sight as little boys. And if society keeps killing the baby girls, how will they have the boys they want so much? And what about the boys when they grow up and want to get married and there is a shortage of women? Many of them will have to go elsewhere to find wives. In Asia, baby girls are tossed aside as if they are garbage and women are raped.
There is the documentary, India’s Daughter, the story of the gang rape and murder of a young woman which shocked the world and sparked riots and protests all over India. Grieving parents and one of the rapists tell the story of the night six men brutally assaulted 23 year old medical student, Jyoti Singh while driving around Delhi, India’s Capital, in a bus. Women should have the right to feel safe in their own communities. In Canada, you can watch India’s Daughter on March 8 on CBC or online for 30 days after broadcast.
I know of some fathers who have daughters and adore them. In fact, they want daughters. God bless these men. Jyoti’s parents were happy to have her. She had dreams like everyone else. One night, her dreams and life were brutally taken away from her.
On March 8, let us celebrate our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends, teachers, etc. Let us celebrate women and reflect on the marvelous contributions they have made and will make to our society. Each life matters. Girls matter. I pray that one day, the words, “It’s a girl” will be met with joy and acceptance. Until then, let each of us who has a little girl of our own, encourage her to stand up and say, “I am a girl and I matter.”
