Having a child is one of the most important parts of an Indian woman’s life. If a woman is married and does not have a child, she is often shamed by her family and even society.
Maggie*, a teacher at one of our evening schools, faced this problem. After five years of marriage with no children, her husband started beating her and drinking alcohol. He stopped going to work. Whenever she came home from the evening school, he told her, “You should not go to that evening school. You should not go to that church. There is no use in you going there. You don’t have a baby; you don’t have a child.”
Maggie and her husband were from Hindu families, but he didn’t have any hope in the Hindu gods. He didn’t have any hope in the Christian God either.
When she visited the doctor, Maggie learned that she had small uterine tumors.
“You’re not going to have any children,” The doctor told her. Maggie’s heart was broken. She stopped going to the evening school. She was the school’s only teacher, so no one was there to teach. Brother Baskar, the evening school principal, and his wife, Sister Kala, went to her home to see what was happening. When they went, Maggie’s husband scolded them.
“Don’t come to my house,” he said. “Don’t call my wife to work there to take care of the children. Why should we care for other children when we don’t have children?”
But Brother Baskar and Sister Kala never gave up. “No, Let us pray,” they said. “Everything is possible. God will answer your prayer, but this is not the solution. Even if you don’t have children, God has given you so many children. You can make up your mind that these [students] are your children. Teach them; show your love. God will definitely give you children. We will pray for your family as a church.”
“I don’t want you in my home. I’m just giving up. Don’t disturb us. Just get away from here,” Maggie’s husband said.
Brother Baskar and Sister Kala prayed for Maggie. They also continued to visit and give her Bible studies. The evening school students also prayed for their beloved teacher to return. After a few days, Maggie decided to come back again and teach.
“I am not worried even if my husband scolds me or hits me,” she said. “No problem. I have faith that God will definitely give me a child.”
At first, Maggie did not tell her husband she was returning to teach but wanted to get out of the house. She, the students, and everyone else continually prayed for her to have a baby.
By God’s grace, she became pregnant, and the doctors were shocked. She was so happy, and so was her husband. He came to drop her off every day at the evening school and pick her up again when it was over.
A few months ago, Maggie gave birth to a baby girl.
Now Maggie, and the evening school students, have a beautiful testimony of how God miraculously answered their prayers.
Please pray that they will always remember that we serve a loving and prayer-answering God. Please also pray for Maggie’s husband to grow to know Jesus.
You can invest in children at an evening school like this (as well as the teachers like Maggie who serve the children) for only $7 a month per child.
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-Contributed by Jesus for Asia
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