Reaching Women in Crisis

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

grateful to receive training and tools to give hope for the future of her and her precious twins.

The second story surfaced during a visit to dedicate a water well where I was touched by the possibilities that exist in the act of investing in the lives of these women. The community was a group of lower caste people who raised hogs for a living. Sometimes wells are in areas near churches, and other times potential areas for kingdom growth are selected. This community would be in the later. Pork is not consumed by most Hindus and is taboo to Muslims, so this community of hog raisers is very poor. There was no church in the area, but there was a lady living nearby who had previously received training through a Lydia Sewing Center.

It was late when the group arrived to dedicate this particular well, but among those there to greet us was this precious lady who had been through the Lydia program. She expressed her appreciation for the skills she had learned at the sewing center and how those skills had helped her better provide for her family. But what really touched me was the next day. This lady with a group of ladies from her community showed up at the pastor’s conference. This whole group of Hindu women had come a considerable distance to once again express their appreciation for the water well and for the General Baptists bringing much needed water. Again this lady expressed her appreciation for the Lydia Sewing Center and the blessing it had been to her family. Thanks to a Lydia Center graduate and now a water well, the

gospel seed has firmly been planted among this Hindu community that currently has no church. A sewing center had planted the gospel here, now a water well was watering the seed (in more ways than one), now we pray for God to give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6).

The third story relates to an article by Rev. Phil Warren in a 2018 Messenger featuring a Dorcas Sewing Center graduate. A group visiting from the United States had been introduced to her by Prakash and Jemima Pamu. In my recent visit to the area it was a pleasure to see this precious lady still serving the church faithfully.

In fact, she was not only still faithful but had become a leader in the Bible woman program at the church in Pithapuram. This Sunday was the first Sunday of the month when communion is commonly served. In the Pithapuram church the distribution of the communion elements is the responsibility of the Bible Women. One of the two women now assisting in the serving of communion was the lady Pastor Phil had featured two years ago!

To refresh your memories, this dear lady has also been widowed. Before coming to Christ and enrolling in a Dorcas Sewing Center she had no hope or future. Now she is making a decent income for her family and serving God faithfully as a Bible woman in the church at Pithapuram.

Finally, among the blessings of this trip was also the giving of gifts to women in Grace Home for Widows. Grace home is not a physical home, but rather a ministry of the India Association to widows due to the difficulty of their circumstances. Pastor Prakash explained to us that the role of Grace Home has changed a little over the years. The ministry has always provided monthly gifts to the widows but also provided a small stipend of income for them in the past. Pastor Prakash explained that the state government in this region was now providing a small stipend for widows, and so Grace Home has suspended the financial support but continue to give the monthly gifts.

During this visit in early January, the gift was a blanket to protect the women from the cool evenings and nights along the Bay of Bengal. Mission One coordinator Dr. Jim Pratt assisted in these distributions at various locations. As the blankets were being given, one dear lady who could not stand upright moved forward to receive her blanket. Due to her years and the physical condition that would not allow her to stand, she chose to show appreciation to Jim for the gift by reaching out and placing her hands on Jim’s feet. As the small group of gift givers walked away, Jim was heard to say, “How do you ever describe an experience like that?” General Baptist ministries to poor women in India are indeed indescribable. But lives are being touched (137 Dorcas graduates in 2019 alone), families are being fed, the kingdom is growing. Every General Baptist must know that they are making a difference in ways that cannot possibly be described – but are life transforming for those who experience it.

General Baptist ministry to women in crises and poverty in India include the sewing centers. Lydia Sewing Centers serve the Calvary Grace Association in Telangana, and the Dorcas Sewing Centers serve the India Association in Andhra Pradesh. The Grace Home for Widows serves poor widows and is a ministry of the India Association. You can help with the sewing machine ministry with a $100 donation. Funding for Grace Home for Widows comes from Unified Giving.