Reaching Women
IN CRISIS
14 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2020
General Baptist ministries in India continue to impact the Kingdom of God by touching the lives of women in need. The stories are too numerous to mention them all, but mission director Mark Powell was particularly touched by four stories on a recent visit to India. The first report is of a lady who is the proud mother of twin girls. The girls sang a special song at an event that included a medical clinic, pastors conference, and Lydia Sewing Center graduation. The girls were nervous to be singing for so many but did a wonderful job. The mother was there to participate in a Lydia Sewing Center graduation ceremony that included her receiving a new sewing machine, since she had recently completed the sixmonth class on tailoring. She had decided to take the class because her husband had tragically been killed in a tractor accident just a few months prior, and she was left to care for herself and her children on her own. Widows in India find life particularly difficult, especially if they do not have a marketable skill. Widows can remarry legally but tend to be socially ostracized and few remarry due to this. As a Lydia graduate, with her new sewing machine, this dear lady can now expect to earn a few dollars a day to care for herself and her family. As her story was being told to us she was overcome with both grief and gratitude. It was an amazingly touching moment. She was obviously still grieving from the loss of her husband but so very
