However, when a group of Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionaries visited her village on International Widows’ Day to distribute gifts and share the Good News of Jesus, Dharani was among the widowed women who received a beautiful sari as a reminder of the churches and Christ’s love for her.
“I was never given a sari anytime, not even by my own children,” Dharani said, “but you people gave me one. I am thankful to the church.”
Lona, a woman in another village, had come to know Christ through her husband before he died. She struggled not only with the grief of losing her husband, but also with being able to provide for her three young children.
The message local pastor Panshul shared as part of a Widows’ Day celebration reminded her that God loves and cares for widows and orphans. She was touched by the program and now has an opportunity to provide for her children because of the piglet Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers gave her.
More than Gifts
Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Aranab desires to bless the widows in his region practically as well as spiritually. On International Widows’ Day, he organized the distribution of 25 water filters for women in desperate need for clean water.
Along with these filters and much-needed food items like rice and flour, Pastor Aranab shared the hope that can only be found in Jesus.
Paulmi, an elderly woman, was especially touched by the compassion shown by Pastor Aranab and the other missionaries. No one had reached out to her after her husband died until the group of believers came to her village.
“I heard about the Lord Jesus Christ who died for me, and I have received hope by hearing the message that God would open the door for me, too,” she said.
Learn more about the struggles of South Asian widows.
