October 2008
Destitute widows now have no home and no one to care for them.
We can provide housing and hope with your help.
SLIT LAMPS PURCHASED
In our last letter we presented the need to purchase a piece of equip- ment called a slit lamp for the Eye Hospital and Clinic operated by the International Assistance Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. We are happy to report that two slit lamps have been purchased and are now operating in Kabul. Examinations done with this equipment help prevent blindness in a nation that has had one of the world’s highest rates of preventable blindness. Our thanks to all who made this purchase possible.
They stand near small tea shops or walk aimlessly around the streets of Tenkari, India. They eat when someone gives them food and wear whatever old clothes are given to them. They sleep on other people’s verandahs or in old ruined buildings with no mats to lie on, no pillows for their heads, and no blankets to cover them on cold nights. They have no place to wash.
Who are they? They are destitute women who were once good wives and mothers. Many are from very poor families who lived a hand-to-mouth existence even before the death of their husbands. Now they have nothing and nowhere to live.
Some are on the streets because their children have moved away or are so poor themselves that they have nothing to give to their mothers. Others have been expelled from their homes because their daughters-in-law do not wish to share their food or homes with old mothers-in-law who have nothing to give in return.
“Can Jesus help us?”
On a recent visit to Tenkari, our friends, Thirumalai and Swarna, were so moved at the sight of the women, who came to ask if Jesus could help them, that they decided they must do something to help.
Near St. John’s Schools, they found an apartment building where they can rent five apartments. One of the apartments will be used for nursery and kindergarden classes for the growing schools and the other four will be used to house fifteen of these women. One of the apartments will serve as a kitchen and the others as places for them to live. Each apartment has its own bathroom and the women will be responsible for the cleaning of these and the apartments. They will be under the supervision of a fine Christian woman who is the mother of two St. John’s schools students.
The women will receive medical attention from local doctors and medicine from local pharmacies, and those who are able will help with gardening and the cleaning of the school grounds. They will be encouraged to attend the Wednesday evening service at the worship center.
These are women the Lord cares about, and he is the one who can give them salvation, peace, and joy. You can provide the funds to make this labor of love possible.
Thank you for your care and concern.
May God bless you.
Alec Brooks
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress...” James 1:27
