We woke up this morning and began our day reading and studying Acts 3. (We are studying through Acts while in India). We learned in our study how the name of Jesus has power not only to heal us but also to bring us into fellowship with God.
Breakfast at the YWCA always consists of a couple of pieces of bread, a square of butter and a spoon of jam, a banana and an egg. While we are aware that the breakfast is simple and the same each day, there isn't a hint of a complaint. Being in Calcutta, we are aware that this breakfast is nothing short of a feast compared to the little that many people here eat.
Our bus picked us up at 8:30am for the hour long drive to the children's home in the village. Our time with the children continues to be meaningful and profitable. This morning, Merna taught the children the story of the plagues and how God was faithful to protect and save his people. Merna invited the children to turn to Jesus in trust and to rest in his protection and salvation.
We have just finished lunch with the children consisting of rice, dahl, egg curry and vegetables. The students have quickly adapted to eating Indian food - with their hands. Right now the children in the home will settle down for a rest. After they wake up we will continue our Bible lessons with the children.
Tonight we will be staying the night in the home. The streets of Calcutta, we understand, will be clogged as the Hindu celebration of Holi gets underway. We've all packed a few extra items of clothes for the evening. We will have breakfast with the children in the morning and begin a full day of ministry with them tomorrow.
As you are praying for the team, please remember the Shaws in your prayers. They are a lovely family who are walking humbly before God. They are not prone to boasting about their ministry but really it is a remarkable work that they have here in India. Most of these children were picked up from the train tracks and faced a life of gruelling poverty, sexual abuse or death had Stuart not intervened on their behalf. This home has been running for only a couple of years now. His greatest fear is that as some of the girls get a little older, relatives will start to arrive demanding that their daughters be returned to the extended family so that they can be married off for a large dowry or else sold into slavery of one kind or another.
Monique, his wife, has a remarkable ministry to the women who are living or working in the red-light districts. She has four women that she is training and equipping with skills so that they do not need depend on prostitution for an income.
We have been received so warmly by the Shaws. We are grateful for them and blessed by their faithful and fruitful ministry. So please include them, by name, in your prayers for the team.
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