This past week, my team, along with the AIM Beauty for Ashes long term missionary, Jamie, hosted a retreat for the women who work for our host. We have been serving alongside them in foster care homes for disabled orphans for this past month. These women- who work as caretakers, nurse, cooks, and teachers- have devoted days + days on end to serving these children (they even live at the houses and share bedrooms with the kids!). Some of them have families of their own that they go home to visit for only four days every month, but some do not. They each have a beautiful story of God moving in their lives. I want to share a few of them with you.
One of the older women, Rashweri, came wearing a shimmery blue saree and shared a dream she had with me. She was running through the streets, being chased by three men. Right when they were about to grab her, she saw a building. She entered a room, and found two young men. She said to them “you must help me, I’m being chased and I don’t know why”. They brought her to the next room, where she found an old man lying on a cot, wearing a white robe. He arose from the bed, and listened to her pleas. He said to her “Do not fear, I am here with you always”.
Krishnaveni is a gorgeous lady who was wearing a green and gold saree with gold earrings and red bangles that jingled as she told her story. Three years ago, her husband died suddenly. their friends turned away from her so she returned home to live with her parents. just three months later, her mother died. her father left the home to mourn with her younger sister, leaving Krishnaveni alone.
One night, consumed by grief, Krishnaveni prepared for herself a drink of poison. She drank the whole glass, not even leaving a drop. She passed out, thinking she was dying, but heard a voice saying to her “Your friends will leave you, your parents will leave you, but I — never.”
And then, she WOKE UP. She saw the empty glass, and knew that she had drank it, but somehow, she was completely fine.
Over the years, she heard God’s call to come work at the foster care homes, and every time she wanted to say no, she heard His voice again: “Your friends will leave you, your parents will leave you, but I — never.”
She told me that the Lord showed her a vision of a white dove flying in the dead of night, a bright symbol of peace somehow illuminated although no light was seen.
She now knows and believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that she will always listen to her God and Father, who rescued her life from poison, and shame, and defeat.
Nagendramma was one of the oldest women and as we walked over to the feet washing couches, she shuffled slowly, dressed in bright yellow but clearly suffering from the pains of age. I washed her feet and prayed blessing over her. Although she didn’t speak English and couldn’t understand my prayer, she was just bawling the whole time. She took my hands in her hands and repeated her thanks, staring into my eyes with these eyes that have seen so much hardship and sadness. I could feel the Spirit was falling down from heaven on her, giving her His peace and love.
Prasanatha went to school for physiotherapy, but at the end of 7 years of school, she felt the Lord telling her to take a fellowship on pediatrics. Although she didn’t necessarily want to, she did; and found herself a few years later working in her own clinic. As the months passed, she found that she was losing patients- all the kids were healing and not needing therapy anymore. She wanted to pray for more work, but who would ever pray for more disabled children? But God presented another option- working for the organisation here. Her father was against it, but she realized starting here was what God wanted. And as she has worked with over 150 children, that fellowship years ago that she didn’t want to take finally made sense. She was created for this job.
What a powerful God we serve!! Thank you Jesus for:
-the 55 women who came, recieved love in the form of teaching, vulnerability, sweets, and their feet being washed
-the 6 women who experienced salvation and asked Jesus into their hearts
-the countless stories of faith, healing, and provision that were told, and written, at the retreat
*The name of the organisation and foster care homes cannot be shared, to protect their work here in India, and the children who are up for adoption.*
