Yesterday and today were wonderful with the women. I just love being in the sewing classes and spending time with them! tomorrow is my last day with them in the sewing classes since we dont have them on thursday or friday! I cant believe it. Im going to be teaching the bible lesson tomorrow and its been on my mind all week. there are so many things i want to tell them about how loved they are but theres no way I can fit that all into one lesson. Prayers for that please! But ive loved just sitting with them this week and spending time with them.
Today was a hard day in a few ways, we had two things come up that were just reality checks for me, reminding me that these women do not live in the wonderful world of our care but at the end of the day return home to harsh realities. One of the women I have gotten closest too was beaten last night. She was married to her uncle at age 9, she doesnt even remember her own wedding. she refuses to be with her husband and everytime her parents send her to be with him she runs away or screams the whole time. Last night she was fighting with her mother about going when her father came home drunk and beat her. She tried to run away but today after classes were all over told us that she has no place to stay. It is not part of indian culture to allow other people to stay in your home and no one will take her in because the police will go after them, including us. It absolutely broke my heart leaving her there today knowing that she will have to go back home and there is nothing i can do.
We also have our out of state contacts here helping us do some work including an evaluation of the community and what else we could be helping with here. During all of this a woman that we know came to us, with her 3 week old baby and casually told us that she was going to sell it. She needs the money and she could make $30 off of selling her baby to a person that comes into the slums regularly and was described as simply the "baby buyer". This blew my mind that a woman with a history in prostitution would willingly sell her baby into that same, if not worse, environment. Hearing mackey talk about everything she is doing in mumbai and seeing what goes on here, i now know that the love of money is truly the root of all kinds of evil.
My mom wrote me a letter for everyday that I am gone, which is a lot of letters! But she included this quote in one of them and it stuck with me, especially today. "The most profane word we can use is "hopeless". When you say a situation or a person is hopeless you are slamming the door in the face of God." -Kathy Troccoli. Today some things seemed hopeless but i have to remember but things are not hopeless because I serve the God of the universe and he is the God that saves and the God that redeems.
"But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you "
Isaiah 43:1-4
That being said, we still had a wonderful time with the women and I was able to video a few of them introducing themselves for you to see!
Meet Konkowa:
This is Durga and she just finished her first sari blouse! The video was an accident but now you can see her face and her new blouse!
I hope that works because they are some amazing women and I want to put some faces (and voices) to the names you have been reading! I have a few others but i will wait to post them when i know they work! Happy tuesday to everyone in the US, my last tuesday here is over!
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