We arrived safely in Bangalore despite
“operating issues” which held up our flight for an hour. Pastor Babu Prasad, our AIM partner, and his
wife, Dr. Sujartha, welcomed us into their comfortable guest room. Bangalore
is so much cleaner and cooler than our previous locations—we can easily get
spoiled!
But—no time for that. Saturday, May 18th, was our 22nd
Wedding Anniversary but somehow we both forgot until Sunday…. (Couldn’t
possibly be age—we blamed it on the long and ministry-intensive trip.) We are being stretched in so many ways, and
blessed deeply at the same time. God is
working in India. Even though many places theoretically are
“reached”, millions of people have never been presented with the Truth of the
Gospel; “The harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few.” So we got down to
work again…
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| God's Book of Promises: Dr. Sujartha and Russ |
On Sunday, Russ spoke at Faith Prayer
Baptist Church,
a small Tamil-language congregation associated with Pastor Babu’s Mizpah
Ministries. Pastor Dass and his son,
co-Pastor Emmanuel Prabhu, greeted us with joy.
The resounding hymns moved me to tears as I thought about all the
nations praising the One True God across the globe.
By now, Russ’ testimony has
been translated into Telugu, Oriya, and now Tamil…this time by Dr. Suji. As I looked into the faces of the men,
women and children, I marveled at the creativity and diversity of our
Creator. So different, yet we are so much the same...
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| Bible Study and Prayer |
Monday, we checked out the rooms
for our Mission Team and negotiated prices.
On Tuesday Russ spoke at Mizpah Assembly prayer meeting. Throughout the world,
you can always recognize the core group of a ministry—they come to the prayer
meetings. Prayer is the foundation of
our lives and God’s work. It keeps our
faith alive and vibrant, and we were blessed by the faithful believers gathered
that evening.
Wednesday saw Alice and
Pastor Babu back at the second-story church.
It is in an impoverished neighborhood where its ministry is
essential. Their “Nile Project” feeds
and tutors poor children five days a week.
Sister Susheela, a retired teacher, is a wonderful supervisor who
endorsed it from the beginning.
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| Incense Makers Working Late at Night |
Although a wedding reception
was in full swing, about 30 of the children squeezed into the church office and
were interviewed by Alice. Whispers and giggles belied the stories that
came to light: Fathers dead from heart
attacks and accidents, and many others who are absent alcoholics, have left so
many local children destitute. Their
mothers struggle at jobs—like making incense sticks far
into the night—to gain 75 or 100 rupees a day ($1.50 to $2.) Rent in Bangalore for even a tiny room costs 1500 rupees
a month, which leaves maybe 1000 rupees ($20) a month for food, clothing,
cooking fuel, etc. Others are
housemaids, relying on leftovers to bring home to feed the family. Sometimes there are no leftovers…so there are
no meals.
This is the niche that
Mizpah Ministries has filled to open doors for the Gospel, and this is where
AIM has gone into partnership. We have
plans in the works for expanding the Nile Project to meet the needs of more
children—watch for more information in the days ahead.
Let’s meet some of the
children:
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| Sonia (left) and Friends |
Sonia is a little older than
most, about 14. She was completely deaf and mute when her Hindu family brought her to church for
prayer in 2005. They began coming
regularly. When they heard the Gospel,
their eyes were opened. They said “Even
if Sonia is not healed, we know that Jesus Christ is the Living Lord.”
When the Nile Project began
in 2007, Sonia came every day. A few
months later, she laughed and pointed to her ear—and made her first sounds of
surprise. She could hear! She can understand people now, speaks a
little--and is full of fun and laughter.
A joyful Sonia and joyful church!
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| Karthik |
While most children told us
how they loved the Bible stories, songs, and help with
schoolwork, Karthik is a typical growing boy—and very honest. He is 9 yrs old and entering the 3rd
Standard at school. His mother works at
a bottling factory where she spends long days applying labels by hand. His father was a carpenter who died 2 years
ago after falling off a terrace (balcony)—there are no workmen’s comp benefits.
Karthik has been coming to the Nile
Project for 3 years. Alice asked: What do you like about the Nile
Project? He replied: “The food!” and his hands flew up
to cover his grinning face….
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| Deepa |
Deepa is a shy 8 year old in the 3rd
Standard. Her mother works making
incense sticks at home since her husband died of a heart attack. Deepa has one elder sister and one younger
brother, all four trying to live on her mother’s meager wages. What do you like about the Nile Project? “Happy!”
She likes the Bible stories and songs.
And yes, she likes the food also.
The stories could go on and
on. Each back street and alleyway has
its tales to tell of death and hardship and tears. Yet, I saw that Mizpah Christian Assembly is
bringing these children to an island of refuge in the Nile River of poverty
that surrounds them—just as Pharaoh’s daughter rescued little Moses from his
lonely basket among the reeds. We are
honored that the Lord has called us to help.
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| Susheela and Some of Her "Nile Project Children" |
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But Jesus called the children to him
and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16
--Alice Sharrock
