Preetha will probably remember the day for as long as she lives. The compassion of a GFA Women’s Fellowship team resonated in her tattered heart in a way that it had never been touched before.
Growing up in a slum area in Rajasthan, North India, Preetha knew nothing but squalor and poverty. She lived with her mother in a tiny, makeshift shack. Her father had deserted the family. And her mother, caught up in her own life and struggles, neglected her teenage daughter, failing to give her the love and nurture so desperately needed at this crucial time in her life.
But when a Women’s Fellowship team visited Preetha’s slum colony, she was exposed to a love like none she had ever known. As they showed that they cared for Preetha and told her about a Savior who had laid down His life for her, her heart swelled with joy. It was the first time she had heard of this loving God; the only gods she knew seemed cold and uncaring to her.
Preetha eagerly began to read out loud one of the Gospel tracts the missionaries gave her. As in most slum areas, illiteracy is a common problem in Preetha’s colony, and soon a crowd of people gathered around her, eager to hear what was printed on the little pieces of paper some of them now held in their hands.
Not only did they give out Gospel literature that day, but the Women’s Fellowship team also personally visited with many families. After inviting them in, the women listened very intently to the Gospel, and some asked the missionaries to read the tracts to them out loud.
Like Preetha, another young woman, Santhira, reacted to the Gospel in a positive way. Warmed by the love of the women’s outreach team, and encouraged to hope in even desperate situations, a number of women sought them out with prayer needs. Some yearn to be blessed with children, and others have requested prayer for their alcoholic husbands.
GFA teams will continue to reach out in slums like this one. Whenever possible, they conduct free medical clinics, teach literacy classes and basic hygiene, and provide tutoring for children.
Pray for God’s continued blessings upon this ministry of compassion and that the Lord would show Himself strong and mighty in meeting the needs of the women of this Rajasthan slum—that many will turn to Him for salvation.