M____
K_____, a 27-year-old woman, had been born into a traditional carpenter’s
family. She grew up worshipping Hindu idols and practicing the rituals of her
religion. She was schooled through ninth
grade, and then her life took a dramatically different direction. Believing
that education for girls was meaningless, her family began instead to seek to
give her in marriage.
When
she was still only fifteen years old, she developed a mark on her leg. At first
she didn’t take it seriously; she applied medication and waited for it to heal.
Several years passed, and the strange malady began to worsen. In the meantime,
her family succeeded in finding a husband and M_____ was married at seventeen.
By then, everyone became more concerned about the wound on her leg, and a
myriad of doctors were consulted, with no one able to diagnose the mysterious
ailment.
Finally,
the family consulted a witchdoctor, as is the custom in rural areas when an
inexplicable ailment cannot be cured by modern medicine. When no healing was
manifested there either, her husband decided it was likely incurable, either
leprosy or cancer. In the local culture she was then devalued, useless for all
practical purposes. He left her after only two years of marriage and sought a
divorce.
Only
nineteen years old, M____ returned to her parents’ house a broken woman,
without any hope. Continuing consultations with doctors were fruitless, and in
the meantime the disease began to spread, affecting her whole leg. M_____ became
bedridden, and her family members left her alone, as is the Hindu tradition, to
die.
Expecting
death and waiting for it, M____ had no hope. But then… a Christian woman
evangelist came to visit. She shared the gospel of Jesus Christ and
prayed for her, assuring M____ that Jesus had the power to heal her. Later, a
pastor came and prayed for her as well. In
spite of her desperation and pain, M____ was strengthened by the Holy Spirit to
place her trust in Jesus for both salvation and healing.
Soon
she began to literally feel the healing touch of the Lord, and signs of improvement
began to be seen. Within only a few months the wound was completely healed!
M_____ began to walk again, slowly at first, but then with more confidence and
strength. She realized that she had been rescued from the very jaws of death!
M_____
started attending church, and soon her parents and family members, who had
witnessed the healing miracle, also accepted Christ. All received baptism.
M____ joined the evangelist as she traveled, and M_____’s testimony was a
powerful witness for Christ; many people came to salvation.
For
the past year M_____ has been visiting villages and conducting women’s
fellowships; more than fifty women attend weekly in five villages! On Portable
Bible School graduation day, M____’s shining face told the whole story of God’s
redeeming miracle! Her future plans
include continuing to lead the women’s ministries, growing them into
established churches in the communities where they meet. She will continue to
be discipled and encouraged by the Bihar Christian Church, the ER-affiliated ministry
which had sponsored the Portable Bible School.
Will
you pray for M____ and thousands of women like her who need to find hope,
healing, and purpose in the body of Christ? Pray also for the development of a
new endeavor envisioned by Evangelism Resources to equip women, like M____, who
show such promise as leaders. A proposal for the Women’s Impact Network (WIN)
is currently under consideration for a grant for funding from a foundation.
Pray with us that God will continue to empower women in India to witness,
disciple, and win others into the Kingdom of God!
To learn more about Portable Bible School ministries, visit
Evangelism Resources' website at this url:
To give to support Portable Bible Schools, like the one that trained Meena to lead women's fellowships, click on the button below.
