Jan 7th Prayer Requests
First let me say I feel like I am adjusting to being here pretty well, besides me getting sick on Wednesday and staying all day in bed, (fortunately it was only one of those 24 hour stomach bugs, and we have some great ladies on this trip who went over the top to take care of me and 2 other girls that got the bug). Also, today my face broke out and that is driving me crazy! But, besides that- the food is great, the location is better, and the people are amazing.
I love working in the slums. We have gone into the slums a few times now, visiting with families and the parents of some of the children we have been working with. Also all of our girls that we work with in both the stitching program and the nutrition program are from the slums. It is amazing what these people live in.
(above is a pic of the slum we work in, and some kids that live there)
I met two women that really impacted me today while we went into the slums to pray for families. The first was a woman I had met before, although I can never remember her name (I am so bad with Indian names… I am learning a few but omgsh are they impossible for me to remember. That is a prayer request for myself- to be able to remember these women and children's names!) But she was fairly young with 4 boys. Her youngest boy lay in her lap, and looked to be no more than 3 months of age. She pulled up the baby's shirt to reveal a growth of some sort on his belly. She told us (though a translator) that she was worried about him, and if we would pray for him to be okay. We asked her if that was all that she would like prayer over, and she said no. She continued to tell us that she wants to believe in Jesus, but her family and her husband don't want to. She wants us to pray for them to believe in Him! We asked her if she believed and she said yes! I was so happy! In this lady's house (which was a room with a bed and a tin roof) she had all of the families Hindu gods on their wall- and she confessed that her biggest prayer was that she wanted her family to believe in Jesus! <3>
Before I talk about the second lady, let me tell you about her daughter. We had about 80-100 slum kids come to our vbs the past few days (more came as the days went on), but one girl really caught my heart. Actually a lot of them caught my heart, but this one is special because of her gentle personality. She is quiet, sweet, and well behaved - which says A LOT for an indian child between the age of 4-7, which I'm guessing she is. Her name is Ginger. She has a shaved head, which Indians shave their head for two reasons: Lice, and to show a sacrifice/mourning. I found out a few days later that her father had just recently passed away.
(Ginger is the one closest to the camera)
Now, as we went to the slum houses today, we entered one lady's house and I squealed when I saw Ginger sitting there! But the look on her mother's face would put an arrow through your heart. Upon entering this lady's house, you could just feel the heartbreak and sadness radiating from this woman. As she talked, we learned that Ginger's father had been an alcoholic, and just recently died. Her mother cannot find a job and is making a living by stringing garlands together. She gets paid 10 rupees for every 50 garlands she makes (48 rupees= 1 dollar). Her biggest worry is having a dowry for Ginger. A dowry is when an Indian girl gets married her family has to pay the grooms family to take her as a bride. I am so afraid for Ginger because I don't want to see this young girl working the streets to make money. So please keep her and her mother in your prayers. Right now she is in our preschool and has been provided clothes. This woman was the definition of hopeless. I have never seen someone this sad… but what amazes me is how a child that lives with a mother this sad can still come to school and have a smile that lights up the room.
This next little lady is a child in the slums, who is married. Yes- I said Child. I'm not sure how old she is, but as you can see from the pics I'm about to post, she isn't an adult. I'm pretty sure the guy in the second pic is her husband. He is either her husband or brother, and I don't think they look much a like. Plus, I also know that her husband is in his late Teens.
(above, Prima is the girl in the left in the first pic. She was very excited to receive a Horse silly band. In Hindi, Horse=Goda.)
Her name is Prima, and she was married with a full ceremony and everything. They don't live together yet- but as soon as she has her first monthly cycle, which can be about anytime unfortunately, she will go live with him. Our prayer for her is that they will continue to allow her to stay in school.
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