Destination 4/4 - Bangalore, India
Beginning later this month, we plan to travel to four different countries across the globe, spending two months in each place as we seek to witness and participate in the Kingdom of God that is breaking into our world through the lives of Christians. In each place, we are accessing the local, native church community through friends who have been living and working in those areas for several years. Our last destination is Bangalore, India, where Gunavathy lives and runs a home for young women.
The dream for this home first began for Gunavathy, a Christian Indian woman, when she was working in a hospital counselling HIV-positive patients. Many were cut off from work opportunities due to sickness and/or discrimination. Because of this, parents were not able to provide for their children’s meals every day, not to mention a home or an education. There was little hope for the kids apart from begging on the streets to make money. Gunavathy’s heart broke over this and the dream to open a home specifically for HIV-affected girls was born. The vision was to be a safe place for the girls to live and gain an education, as well as be prepared for adulthood while still maintaining a relationship with their parents.
A short time before the home was scheduled to open, back in 2007, Gunavathy’s husband Harsha, who had been preaching in the northern parts of India, lost his life in a tragic construction accident. It was devastating to take in the shock of that loss. On top of the grief, Gunavathy also faced the difficulty of managing their entire household, including financial and legal tasks that she was not prepared to take over but was forced to because of Harsha’s sudden absence. Being a widow in the culture of India can be very difficult. Instead of allowing all of this to deter her from the calling of opening a girls home, Gunavathy, along with her son and daughter, opened the home by faith with the support of the church her husband had been working with.
It’s particularly special to me that Bangalore is a part of our itinerary because I first visited Gunavathy and the girls seven years ago. I spent three months helping to care for the girls. At the time, I was dealing with a lot of hurt and brokenness in my life. Being able to do homework, play games and share Bible stories with the girls gave my spirit a focus broader than myself. Waking up to life with that sweet collection of faces (ages 5-13) and all their love and hugs every morning was truly healing for my heart. I was amazed by Gunavathy’s faithfulness to God and was nourished by conversation with her. It’s so impossible to describe how much my heart is filled that I am returning to these wonderful women (because those little girls are now beautiful young women) with my husband and son! It speaks emphatically of God’s faithfulness in my life to never stop recreating my circumstances into goodness.
In addition to filming our documentary, we are looking forward to capturing the heart, vision and need of Harsha Ministries so that they can use video as well as a website to further their cause as these girls will soon be graduating and will need funding to pursue college degrees. I am also hoping to work on a social justice-based art project that allows the girls to express their hearts and thoughts from conception to exhibition.
We are so excited to get to spend a couple of months, including the holidays, in this part of the world and we can’t wait to share these amazing women with you! †
Destination 4/4 - Bangalore, India
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