By Dave Arden
What a great joy and honor to meet face-to-face with our persecuted brothers and sisters in India. While the SOM USA team was in India for November graduation, we met two Sewing and Discipleship School leaders. This instructor has raised many Sewing and Discipleship leaders over the years. In her region, she serves as an advisor and counselor to hundreds of workers.
Opposition Is the Soup of the Day
When a woman receives Christ in rural India, “The surrounding villagers turn their back on us,” Sewing and Discipleship leader said. Consider the barbs of mistreatment that so many women face:
- The villagers don’t allow them to fetch water from the public well.
- Often rejected, the others say, “Your God is not the god of the village. Your God is the god of America. Go there.”
- Others say, “If you are not part of the tribe, you are not part of us.”
- Often, other supplies and vital goods are refused to them.
- “When I die,” Charita said, “there are no burial grounds to put me.”
Overcoming Deterrents by Faith
Still, despite the opposition, the Sewing and Discipleship instructor and leader shares the Lord, and the Gospel keeps spreading. The women are filled with joy and enjoy closer intimacy with other followers of Christ. “I love sharing the stories of the Bible like the story of Esther,” the instructor reported. She has been a leader since graduating about six years ago.
“My husband was a strong Hindu fanatic many years ago,” she continued. “But he lost his sight, and then Christ healed him. He has chosen to follow Jesus. Pray for my son, as there is an opportunity for him to join the church planting school.”
Pray for these Sewing and Discipleship leaders to share Christ boldly and spread the Gospel, moving past rejection after rejection. Pray for the Lord to provide resources to support their family and the fullness of GRACE to pour out through their lives into the lives of others in great measure.
