Bringing the Gospel Light into Darkness…
Independent Church in India is making a difference in the lives of Dalit children, widows, and other poor and forsaken people. ICII missionaries reached a poverty-stricken village. It was a village of people known as Dalits, or untouchables, where there were run-down huts. Homeless people, orphans, and widows lived in severe poverty and hopelessness. There are many widows because lots of the men work in a nearby leather factory where conditions are incredibly dangerous and unhealthy, and many of them only live to the age of 40 because of serious health issues. ICII missionaries began preaching the Gospel there and many widows, children, and others have committed their lives to the Lord!
One evening, Lowell and I (Kathy) along with a visiting missionary from the US, went to this village to see the work that the native missionaries have been doing there. ICII’s missionaries were there doing children’s ministry and teaching children the word of God using the Bible study books provided by the ministry. At the outreach, about fifty widows gathered to hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we shared, they were very interested in hearing about Jesus. That night, around forty widows humbly repented of their sins and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We were also able to satisfy their physical hunger by providing each woman with a bag of rice which was so much appreciated and needed by these desperately poor widows.
After this, all the widows, children, and other people came to us for prayer. One middle-aged woman came to me and tried to get my attention because she could not talk. She was pointing to her ears and mouth, asking for me to pray for her. I learned from others that she had been deaf and mute from birth. We began to pray for her that Jesus would heal her. Afterward, I asked her to say “Yeshu” which means Jesus in the Tamil language. She opened her mouth and began to say “Yeshu” over and over again! We prayed some more for her, then with my mouth hidden from her, I spoke a word in her ear and she began to repeat it. She started thanking Jesus with tears of joy! The other people in the village were all watching with great interest and many of them were saying, “We never heard her talk like that before.” The Lord had done a miracle in that place!
Since this miracle happened, this woman has been bringing her relatives to church and they also have received the Lord! She and her family come to the weekly Bible studies. Before this, she could not get a job, but since Jesus healed her she has found a job where she makes candy and has moved into another village. Now both this village and the village in which she is living know about this incredible miracle Jesus has done! The Lord indeed has given her a new life and is using her life as a witness to others for his glory!
Many other widows and poor families have received rice, and over two hundred of the children have received our gift packs which come with a New Testament. Now each week, ICII native missionaries are doing ministry at this place. The missionaries are also showing ICII’s word-for-word video in the evenings, where many people come and watch as they listen to the word of God. Each Sunday, a church has been started in one of the believers’ homes where villagers come to worship the Lord led by ICII native missionaries! We give all the glory to the Lord Jesus Christ that so much is happening at this village of around two thousand souls that were once in darkness and the bondage of sin. But through a church that sponsors ICII’s work, the light of the gospel has touched many lives as more are believing in Christ.