God’s Word in Tract Transformed Bharat & Birthed a Church in Slum

I brought my rubber garden clogs for this very reason.

I remember very well the warm, sweaty, sunny day I found myself on the other side of the world—in a slum in Asia.

The sights and smells of the slum we visited assaulted me at every step. As I walked through the mud, avoiding piles of trash and keeping a sharp eye out for mice, I was glad to be wearing my trusty rubber clogs. Our guide, Sanjeep, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionary, lead us through a maze of leaning patchwork dwellings. We crossed active train tracks as trains screamed past us at a very uncomfortable proximity. We navigated around garbage heaps bigger than any city garbage dump I’ve seen.

This train speeds through the middle of the slum several times a day.

As we neared our destination, I watched Sanjeep disappear through the doorway of a corrugated metal structure slightly bigger than a shed. It was raised three feet above the ground on a foundation of mud and sand bags to avoid flooding in the monsoon season. I climbed up the mud steps to the opening and found myself in a cramped family dwelling. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see the inside was divided into two rooms by a half wall. One large bed took up most of the space in the front room.

Our host, Bharat, husband and father of the family who lived here, urged us all to sit. My husband, our guide Sanjeep, and Bharat’s wife and son all piled on the bed. I shared a plastic chair with Naya, a Sister of Compassion who had accompanied us. She and two other sisters lived and worked in this slum alongside Sanjeep.

Our host, Bharat, greeted us with a thousand-kilowatt smile. He did not speak English, but he communicated eager hospitality and excitement very clearly. As Sanjeep translated for him, Bharat asked if he could share how he came to know of Jesus. His face beamed with eagerness as he began.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Generational Poverty: A Cycle Not Worth Repeating

Image
The cycle of generational poverty can seem impossible to break. Children inherit what their parents teach and show them. a joint report from Ascend: The Aspen Institute and Bernard van Leer Foundation affirms this. “What young children learn from the adults who raise and care for them lays the foundation for future social, emotional, language, and cognitive growth,” the report says. 1 Children raised in a generational poverty mindset often lack the tools they need to succeed or achieve a better life than that of their parents. As adults, these individuals often then raise their children in poverty similar to that of their own childhoods, and the cycle perpetuates. It’s a cycle not worth repeating, yet it does time and time again. For the 736 million people worldwide living below the poverty line, earning $1.90 a day or less, the focus is frequently on mere survival. 2 Children are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, says UNICEF, as “children who grow up impoverished often...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more

What Do I Need to Know about the Global Poverty Rate?

Image
Statisticians are getting better at measuring the global poverty rate every year. The World Bank is one group working hard to accurately measure it so that the extent of the problem is fully known and so that progress can be measured. [1] Through governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we can more clearly see the last decade of progress and the most recent effects driving poverty rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one area difficult to measure, but new data shows an overall reduction in the percentage of those in poverty. Unfortunately, there is an increase in total number of people living at or below the official poverty rate of $1.90 per day. [2] That doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. With good statistics and a clear view of the problem, countries and organizations can use the proven methods to regain any ground lost. Additionally, valuable lessons have been learned about how to protect the most vulnerable and how to prevent some of the worst effects. GFA World is un...
Read more