Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000080S
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00:01 (bright upbeat music)
00:22 - Hello and welcome to "Jesus for Asia Now." 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood and today I have 00:26 Israel Prasad with me. 00:27 He is our director in India and we wanna 00:30 talk about an empowering project for widows. 00:34 Welcome to the show, Israel. 00:35 - Thank you so much. 00:37 I'm so happy that I'm here by the grace of God. 00:39 - You have been here for a few days. 00:42 - [Prasad] Yes. 00:43 - And we had FaithCamp 00:44 - [Prasad] Right. 00:45 - which was wonderful. 00:46 and I'm so glad you could come. 00:48 - Praise the Lord, yeah. (laughs) 00:49 - So, you live full time in India, correct? 00:51 - [Prasad] Right. 00:53 - What do you do there for "Jesus for Asia?" 00:55 - We have many projects by the grace of God. 00:58 God has helped us to do some various programs 01:02 for the people in India, 01:05 particularly when we come to women. 01:09 There are so many widows in India, 01:12 and in India, to be a widow, 01:14 it's really, really difficult. 01:17 And it's a kind of a very terrible thing 01:20 in the society. 01:22 They are not being really given the respect 01:25 which is needed to be given. 01:27 And it is something like it's very sad for them. 01:30 When their husband dies, it's like they're off, 01:35 their life is gone. 01:37 There is no more support, 01:38 and if they don't have family support, 01:41 and these ladies, their life is completely ruined. 01:45 - Wow, I know that there used to be a practice where, 01:49 when the man would die, then they would 01:51 put his wife on the-- 01:53 - Yeah, fire. 01:54 - on the fire, when they cremated him, 01:56 they would burn her also. 01:57 - Yes, yes. 01:58 - Wow, and she was alive at the time. 02:00 - Right. 02:01 - Wow, I know that William Carey, 02:03 the missionary, was a part of the group 02:07 that caused that practice to stop. 02:09 - Oh, praise the Lord. - And so 02:10 I know that that's something that they stopped 02:14 a long time ago but there's still a lot 02:16 of life-changing attributes to becoming a widow. 02:22 - Yes, those kinds of things are not happening now, 02:24 but it is still, if you go into some societies, 02:27 some villages, still people treat these widows very badly. 02:34 They are not given that respect in the society. 02:37 - They're not, they're treated like 02:39 an outcast, right? 02:40 - Right, right. 02:42 - Wow, so the people don't want to be with them? 02:44 - Yes, because they feel like they're kind 02:47 of a burden and like they might come for help 02:52 because they don't have any way of taking care 02:55 of the children-- - Supporting them. 02:56 - Supporting the children. 02:57 - Oh, okay. 02:59 - So, the people they don't want to mingle with them. 03:02 - Okay, so we have a program for some 03:04 of these widows. 03:05 - [Prasad] Yes. 03:06 - How did this get started? 03:07 - Oh, yeah, it's a really, 03:09 a very, very heartbreaking incident, you know. 03:13 Because we have evening schools in various villages. 03:19 When we first started this evening school 03:22 in one village, we had children coming in. 03:27 And there is a lady, she's very good lady, 03:31 very decent lady. 03:34 She used to really respect everyone, 03:37 and she was also respected in the society. 03:40 She used to bring her children and leave them 03:43 in the school, and then come in the, after 8:30, 03:47 she would take the children, and she would talk 03:50 with us, such a wonderful lady. 03:53 And her husband was like taking care of the cows, 03:59 feeding them and taking them out 04:02 and that was his job. 04:04 He didn't have a proper job. 04:05 Even though they come from a poor family, 04:08 poor background, but their life was really, 04:10 really so happy. 04:12 But all of a sudden one day, 04:15 this man who went with his cow out, 04:18 as usual, that day he didn't come back 04:21 in the evening. 04:22 And she was really worried because it was raining, 04:25 and she thought, oh, what happened? 04:27 Maybe she thought they were standing 04:29 in some shed because it was raining, 04:31 and after the rain they can come back home, 04:34 they will come back home, so she was waiting, 04:37 but they didn't even return home at all. 04:40 Then she went to see what is really happening. 04:43 It was so sad that she found her husband was dead, 04:49 flat on the ground, and all their cattles 04:55 were dead also. 04:57 Because there was a lightning which struck them. 05:01 When she saw that, oh, she couldn't do, what to do, 05:04 and she called the help from the nearby neighbors. 05:08 They came and took them all and went home, 05:11 and she didn't have anyone to support, 05:13 because she didn't have relatives, 05:15 she didn't have anyone. 05:16 It was, only her husband was her support, 05:20 and the children, they were very young. 05:22 And this lady after that incident, 05:25 the men in the society, started abusing her. 05:30 Using that kind of a situation, started using 05:33 her in a very bad way. 05:35 She didn't have any other support, 05:36 so slowly it became her practice, 05:40 her lifestyle is completely changed. 05:43 And after that, she would not come 05:45 to the school, only the children would come, 05:47 and she will not come and she never saw anyone, 05:52 particularly she used to talk to me really nicely. 05:55 But after that she didn't want to see me. 05:58 And I didn't know what was happening, 06:00 but I know that that man passed away, 06:02 but I didn't know that she was into this kind of 06:05 very bad lifestyle. 06:08 And my uncle told me that she's now, 06:12 her life is completely gone. 06:15 She has gone into kind of a very bad condition, 06:21 and she, it's good that we don't like, 06:26 kind of, because the society started talking 06:29 very bad about her. - About her. 06:31 - One evening I was just in the school 06:35 and she came that way, and she could not see me, 06:39 she wouldn't see my face and-- 06:41 - She wouldn't look at you? 06:42 - Yeah, and then I called her, she came. 06:48 "Sister, how are you?" 06:49 She was just looking down and answering me. 06:52 And then I told her, "Don't be worried, 06:55 "God is there, he's a mighty god. 06:59 "He loves you so much." 07:01 She started crying. 07:04 That was a time I felt like it is not her character, 07:10 but because of the situation, she's forced 07:12 into these kinds of bad things. 07:15 Her family was completely, her name was completely spoiled. 07:20 And everything was very different. 07:23 She didn't have any other way to go, 07:26 to take care of the children, to feed them, 07:29 to give them education. 07:30 - She didn't have any other training or any-- 07:32 - Yes and this was the time God impressed 07:36 in my heart to start some kind of a project 07:39 for these kinds of ladies, who are really put 07:43 in that kind of a situation. 07:46 And I started praying about these ladies. 07:51 It was very painful because I've seen her before 07:54 how she was, and after this, 07:57 her life was completely changed. 08:01 And we were praying about that, 08:03 and then after that, me and my uncle, 08:05 we went inside, we knelt down, we prayed, 08:08 oh, Lord, please do something 08:10 for these kinds of women in this village. 08:13 And then I came to know that there were 08:15 so many other widows in the village 08:20 in the same kind of situation, 08:22 and that is when, after a long prayer, 08:25 I called up Elder Jon Wood and I asked him, 08:29 "Elder, can we do something for these ladies?" 08:32 And after a long season of prayer, 08:35 God answered our prayers to start this sewing project 08:39 for the widows. 08:41 - Right, he raised up one church, 08:42 if I remember correctly that really connected with it. 08:45 - Oh, wow. - And wanted 08:46 to help to start it. 08:49 - Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. 08:50 I'm really thankful for that church, 08:52 because that church has brought light 08:56 to so many widows in India. 08:58 - Wow. 08:59 - And this training program we started, 09:02 and the teacher who came forward to teach 09:05 that sewing classes, was a widow. 09:08 - Wow! 09:09 - And her story is amazing, she said, 09:11 "I want to do this, I want to teach those widows 09:14 "because I know what is a widow's life, 09:18 "how they feel and the difficulties they have, 09:21 "and what are the problems they face day to day 09:23 "in their life. 09:24 "So I want to be a kind of light for them, 09:28 "to train them and show something." 09:31 There is a way, there is always, there is no end. 09:35 You can start from where you are. 09:38 And you can be a changed person. 09:41 - Wow. 09:41 - So she came forward, she said, 09:43 "You know, my story", that widow, the teacher started 09:47 telling her story she said, 09:48 "I had three daughters, girls. 09:53 "It's very difficult to take care of girls." 09:56 - Right. 09:57 - That too in India, in village, 09:59 without a man's support it is very, very difficult. 10:03 And she said, "I never gave up." 10:08 After my husband was passed away, after he passed away, 10:11 I was taking care of these three girls, 10:15 and they were my world, and I told myself, 10:18 I am not giving up, I'm going to fight this life, 10:22 and somehow come up in life, and make sure 10:25 that my daughters are, they're also 10:27 well settled in life. 10:29 She started working very hard, 10:32 because she knew to stitch, to, she knew-- 10:36 - She knew how to sew? - Sew, tailor. 10:38 - Okay, okay. 10:40 - So she started her own tailoring class 10:42 and she started her own tailoring business. 10:45 - Okay. 10:46 - So through that money, she was able 10:48 to help these three girls. 10:51 - Okay. 10:52 - And she said, "Oh, I'm really excited 10:54 "because this project is for my village, 10:58 "for my ladies, who are in kind of my same situation. 11:02 "I want to use my abilities and my talent 11:06 "to uplift their lifestyle." 11:08 - Wow. 11:09 - And she-- - Now was she 11:10 a Christian lady? 11:11 - She's a Hindu lady. 11:12 - [Natalie] A Hindu lady. 11:13 - But had very good heart. 11:15 She came and it was, the class was only four hours, 11:19 but she said, "I can come anytime. 11:22 "I will come anytime. 11:23 "If they are ready, "if they want to learn, 11:26 "I will teach them." 11:27 - Wow, what a sweetheart. 11:30 - So this is the, this is Ronnie 11:32 in the picture. - Okay. 11:33 - And she was explaining how was her life 11:37 when she started the small business of her own 11:41 and was her life was before that, 11:44 and she was so happy that "Jesus for Asia" 11:48 was able to come up for a special project for, 11:52 especially for the widows, which is a great 11:55 blessing for them. 11:56 And these people, these women, who were widows, 12:00 they started coming to the classes. 12:03 - Okay. 12:04 - And Ronnie was so happy because you just imagine, 12:07 when the teacher is happy, the students are happy. 12:09 - [Natalie] Yeah. 12:11 - And she was so happy, that she taught them very minutely. 12:15 - Oh, every detail. 12:16 - Very detail and with a lot of love. 12:21 They love to come to that sewing class. 12:24 And they started, with this school 12:26 is a six months program. 12:28 They come every day, two hours or three hours 12:33 they come and they learn stitching, 12:36 and it's a six months program. 12:39 And within the six months of time 12:40 they learn how to stitch all different 12:43 kinds of dresses. 12:45 - Okay. 12:46 - For the ladies and for the children 12:48 and for some men dresses too. 12:50 How to stitch shirt and after the six month, 12:55 we were able to give them free sewing machines. 13:00 - Okay. 13:01 - And now, those people have their own business. 13:04 - They have their, oh, that's wonderful. 13:06 - And they are not depending on anyone now 13:08 for their, to find anyone, - Any money, 13:12 yeah, their livelihood. 13:13 - And they don't fear anymore the society, 13:17 or the men will come and disturb them, 13:20 because they have something which supports them. 13:23 - Right, and it's a respectable occupation. 13:25 - [Israel] Well, yeah. 13:26 - Wow. 13:27 - And the lady who was in all these kinds 13:30 of bad habits, her life is completely changed now. 13:34 - [Natalie] Wow. 13:35 - And she's able to walk and mingle 13:38 with the society, how she was before, 13:42 because she has earned the respect 13:44 from the people back now. 13:45 - Wow. 13:46 - She has proved that it is not her character, 13:49 it is because of her life-- 13:51 - Her circumstances. - because of there was 13:52 circumstances, there was no support, 13:56 and no way for her to take care of the children. 14:00 And they are having a wonderful life now. 14:04 And by the grace of God we had, 14:06 we have 12 people who come to these classes. 14:10 It's kind of a batch way as we do, 14:13 because we have got limited 14:17 soil, space-- - Space. 14:19 and sewing machines. - And sewing machines. 14:20 And usually we started in that village, 14:24 and we were not able to function there 14:26 because the building was in a very bad shape. 14:31 It was like, anytime it would fall apart. 14:35 So that is why we went and told the landlord 14:40 to repair it, but that lady, the landlord, 14:44 she was not (chuckles) willing to do that. 14:46 And this building was really getting 14:48 more worse and worse. - It was, 14:50 yeah it was scary. 14:51 - Scary, and all the ceiling was really cracking 14:56 and so we thought it's very dangerous 14:58 and now by the grace of God we are able 15:00 to move this project to a place near Tandur 15:05 in South India, and now it's also a great blessing 15:08 because it is helping so many widows 15:12 in that area now. 15:13 - Okay. 15:14 - And these people are also called the gypsies, 15:18 like, they don't, but the government 15:21 has given them a place to stay. 15:24 So where they are not moving from there. 15:26 - They're not nomadic at this point. 15:28 - Yes, they are settled there. 15:30 And if you see their lives, 15:32 men just marry and they have children 15:35 and they just leave and they go. 15:37 They can marry any number of wives and... 15:41 - Oh. 15:42 - So it's, their lifestyle is really, really very sad. 15:44 - So the women are widows without being widowed 15:47 because he just goes and marries someone else 15:49 and leaves her. - Someone else. 15:50 And this lady will have three, four children, 15:53 and he'll go marry another one, 15:54 they will have children. 15:56 So their life is really, really sad. 15:59 And these ladies, just imagine 16:02 having three children and without any kind 16:04 of support-- - Support. 16:05 - And what they will do? 16:08 And the children they go and beg money, 16:11 for money, so that they can bring 16:13 and give it to their mother. 16:16 And what a child can do? 16:18 And because of this, the child is not 16:20 having good education. 16:22 The child is not given good food. 16:24 And moreover, the family is completely 16:26 like falling apart and now, by the grace of God, 16:31 this project over there, it was started 16:34 by Mrs Dorothy Watts. 16:35 The former division president, Pastor Watt's wife 16:39 started this project. 16:41 And after she passed away, 16:43 for nearly about five to six years 16:47 this building was just kept closed. 16:51 It was not functioning-- - Nobody was keeping it going. 16:54 - Yeah, nobody was taking care 16:55 of the thing and that is when the local president 16:59 Basu Polmony gave us the the proposal that he said, 17:03 "It would be nice to start this widow project" 17:05 because the building was there. 17:07 - Right. 17:08 - But it was 17:09 not functioning-- - It wasn't being used. 17:10 - Yeah, because they didn't have enough 17:11 of funds to run the project. 17:14 They had a midday meal and Mrs Watts was there 17:17 and all completely the project was stopped. 17:20 Only the church was functioning, 17:22 which is the other side, but in the same compound. 17:26 The other two projects, the midday meal 17:28 and the widow project was completely shut down. 17:32 And by the grace of God, when the president 17:35 took us and Elder Jon Wood was there to see that, 17:39 and again we prayed and God helped us to open 17:43 the widow sewing project in that area now. 17:47 And so many widows have been blessed. 17:50 - Wow, I remember the story. 17:52 The head man from the village traveled 17:54 all the way to the president's house 17:57 or the section officer, whatever, to beg-- 18:00 - Right. 18:01 - for this program to be restarted 18:02 to help them - Very sad. 18:04 At least weekly twice. 18:07 Because from this place, from this house, 18:11 where the project is, he has to go travel nearly 18:14 25 kilometers, which is 14 miles. 18:19 All the way he asked he will go, one way. 18:23 And he will go beg them, please do something. 18:26 Because he was like kind of elder leader 18:29 of that community. 18:32 So people in that community they had 18:34 good respect on him. 18:36 But after this program was shut down, 18:38 they gave up hope on the church, 18:41 because it was of great help 18:44 and all of a sudden 18:45 it was shut down-- - It was gone. 18:46 - And it was gone and they felt, 18:48 oh what is happening with this church? 18:51 And I was told when they started this program 18:54 the church was completely packed. 18:58 The church was not enough to hold people inside. 19:01 There were people sitting outside. 19:04 It was growing and all of a sudden 19:07 when this program was shut down 19:10 without funds and proper guidance and the people 19:13 started going away from the church, 19:17 which was really breaking our heart. 19:19 And when we heard after a long prayer 19:23 God, amazingly, helped Elder Jon Wood 19:26 to start this program again in that place. 19:29 So we cleaned the whole area. 19:31 We painted, repainted and there were needed 19:34 of a little renovation works and did 19:37 and bought all the sewing machines back. 19:40 And when we started that project, 19:44 when we saw the faces of those people, 19:47 the widows, it was bright and very happy. 19:52 They came, each they came and got hold of our hands, 19:55 they said, "Oh, thank you so much 19:59 "for helping us, for opening the door again." 20:05 And now, by the grace of God, 20:06 it is really, we're going very well, 20:09 and every batches have 12 widows 20:12 come and learn how to, stitch the cloak, dresses, 20:18 and they are really happy. 20:20 And after six months we give them a certificate, 20:24 the graduation certificate. 20:27 And not only the certificates, 20:29 we also give them free sewing machines. 20:32 - Right, so they can have their own business. 20:34 - Yes, and they have it in their own house now. 20:38 And these ladies because, they also sometimes 20:43 when there is a festival, or a function 20:46 and some gathering, public gathering, 20:49 they would stitch and they would go and sell that. 20:52 - Oh, nice. 20:53 - Like small, a purse made up of cloth, 20:57 because they're in that area, 20:59 it is very famous. 21:00 The ladies would have these purses 21:02 made up of cloth material. 21:05 So they make that and they go sell it. 21:09 They are really doing well now, 21:11 by the grace of God. 21:12 - Wow, praise the Lord. 21:13 - And we were also able to start 21:15 the evening school there. 21:18 - Right in the same building. 21:19 - The same building. 21:20 (laughing) 21:21 And now by the grace of God, 21:22 those projects which was shut down 21:25 for quite long years of time and now 21:27 it is reopen, it started again. 21:31 And those children, the way you see them eat 21:33 because they don't get good food. 21:35 They go out and they are not 21:38 disciplined. - They scavenge and they beg. 21:41 - Oh yeah. 21:43 Recently I went to that property, the place. 21:47 I was really surprised, because it doesn't, 21:50 no more it looks the same way 21:52 how it was before. 21:54 Very clean, very neat, and they put 22:00 fencing now and the compound wall. 22:02 Everything is put, it is well maintained now. 22:06 - Nice. 22:07 - They have a place for cooking the food 22:09 and the children, they come study in the evening, 22:12 know about Jesus. 22:14 When you see them the way they sing 22:16 the songs, wow. 22:18 So happy with big smile on their face. 22:23 They sing these songs and any kind 22:25 of church activities, now these ladies 22:28 are there in the front, taking care 22:30 of all those programs. 22:32 - Wow, so I know that when we talk 22:35 about sewing and learning to tailor 22:37 and things like that, a different picture 22:39 comes to mind when you think like 22:41 a person from India, from someone from America-- 22:45 - Okay. - that sews. 22:46 Because in India, they don't use patterns. 22:49 - [Israel] Yes, we don't. 22:51 - And so (laughs) they use measurements. 22:53 - Yes, we start from the scratch. (laughs) 22:56 - Yes, so we have a picture here 22:58 of one of the ladies holding up a blouse 23:00 that she was working on. 23:01 - Right, you know these ladies, 23:04 when they come, they start with prayer. 23:08 They start with prayer. 23:09 - Wow. 23:10 - And then, even at the end, 23:12 when they complete, when they go from the, 23:14 before going, they have prayer. 23:16 - Wonderful. 23:17 - So, our pastor, who's working there, 23:20 he goes and inspects them and he also 23:23 prays with them. 23:24 - Wow. 23:25 - And where there is a need of something 23:27 like a prayer in their house, in the family, 23:29 for the children, they call the pastor. 23:32 So it is not only giving them a start, 23:38 in their life again a new beginning, 23:42 it also includes the spiritual. 23:45 - Right, it connects them. 23:46 - Connects them, so they're very happy. 23:50 - [Natalie] Wonderful. 23:51 - Yeah they are so happy (Natalie laughs) 23:52 that this place is kind of helped them 23:58 in their life change. 24:00 - Wow, so, Israel, can you tell us 24:02 a story about something that changed 24:04 for these ladies spiritually? 24:06 - Yes. 24:07 - [Natalie] From these schools? 24:08 - Oh, yes so many instance are there. 24:11 And particularly, talking about the teacher. 24:16 She came and asked us. 24:18 She comes from a strong Hindu family background. 24:22 Even though the church is supporting them, 24:26 but still they have that thing from the beginning. 24:29 - Right. 24:31 - But when they practically see every day, 24:34 day to day's life how the Christ, like character, 24:40 when they see in the Christians, 24:42 their life is changing. 24:44 And this lady, this teacher, she asked us 24:48 to come and pray for her daughter. 24:49 - Aw, so, the specific health issue, 24:53 if I remember the story correctly, 24:54 was that she wasn't able to get pregnant. 24:56 - [Israel] Right, yes. 24:57 - So the daughter. 24:58 - Yes, her daughter. 25:00 She was not pregnant. 25:01 Married and I think nearly about three, four years, 25:05 she didn't have child and because if you don't 25:09 have a child in the village surrounding, 25:14 people might think, oh is something wrong with the, 25:17 what is happening? 25:18 They talk very bad. 25:20 And this lady, she was really feeling so bad, 25:24 sad that her daughter didn't conceive 25:28 or have any child. 25:30 So she came and asked us to pray for her, 25:33 and we prayed. 25:34 God answered the prayer. 25:36 - Amen. 25:36 - One after the other. 25:38 They had their first baby (laughs) and the second baby. 25:40 - Oh. (laughs) 25:42 - And now she's so happy. 25:45 God answered the prayer and they are 25:47 now complete family. 25:49 - Wow, and so she saw God answer her prayers-- 25:53 - Right, yes. - Also, wow. 25:55 Well, praise the Lord. 25:56 Thank you so much for coming and sharing 25:58 this project that is changing lives. 26:00 - Yes I'm really, really happy that God 26:03 helped these ladies-- 26:06 - [Natalie] Amen. 26:07 - With these kinds of projects. 26:08 Just imagine, if these projects were not there, 26:12 their life would have been in the darkness. 26:15 - Right, right, wow. - Through these projects. 26:18 I really thank-- - That's wonderful. 26:20 - The church, which is supporting 26:22 and the people who are supporting these kinds of projects. 26:26 They are earning a lot of-- 26:29 - Jewels? - Jewels in their crown. 26:32 - [Natalie] Amen. 26:33 - Definitely when God comes, 26:35 he's going to bless them, because they are 26:38 not only helping one individual widow, 26:41 they are helping the whole family. 26:43 - Right. 26:44 - They're helping the whole-- 26:45 - And the whole community. - community. 26:47 - Right. 26:48 - Which is a great blessing. 26:49 - [Natalie] Yes. 26:50 - I think this is a wonderful and blessed 26:53 ministry because it has been a blessing 26:56 for many families. 26:57 - Amen. 26:58 - Because women are very important. 27:00 In a family, women plays an important role, 27:04 and when their life is ruined, 27:06 the whole family's ruined. 27:08 But when their life has changed, 27:10 the whole family's changed. 27:12 That is what we have been-- - (laughs) That is wonderful. 27:13 - Experiencing in these widows course. 27:16 I'm so happy to be here to share 27:19 what our God is leading these wonderful widows, 27:22 their life changes, seeing them happening. 27:25 Oh, I am really so happy and excited. 27:29 (both laughing) 27:30 - Oh, praise the Lord. 27:31 Thank you so much for coming and sharing with us. 27:33 - You're welcome, you're welcome. 27:34 Thank you, thank you so much. 27:36 - Well, I know I've been blessed by the stories 27:38 we've heard today and I hope you have been also. 27:41 And I would like to invite you, if the Lord 27:43 is impressing you to be a part of this ministry, 27:46 you can contact us at Jesus for Asia. 27:48 PO Box 1221, Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. 27:54 Call us at (423) 413-7321 or visit our website 28:01 at Jesus4asia.org. 28:03 May God richly bless you, 28:05 until we see you next time on "Jesus for Asia Now." 28:09 (upbeat bright music) |
Revised 2020-01-22