WITHIN INDIA ONLY

God would not forsake me and my children

Mrs. Lalzapi (age 79), a widow from Aizawl, has physical infirmity which could not be diagnosed by doctors. She is so weak and feeble that she has to be carried whenever she wants to move. In addition to her physical weakness, one of her sons is having mental disorder, another one is being imprisoned for certain criminal case, and his grandson is a drug addict. She has surely been going through a really tough time. Yet, in the midst of these untold difficulties, she clings on to God knowing God would not forsake her and her children. A visit from the Bible Society of India with gift kits and the Bible was indeed so affirming, especially in a time when she was just gazing at her empty rice bag. She just could not control her emotions while expressing her profound thankfulness to God and to the BSI.

Thank you God for the unfailing compassion

The story of Mrs. Rahil Purty, a widow, who lives in the village of Jojodih, Tamar in Jharkhand is another sad and unimaginable one. In her much-advanced age with physical weakness as she cannot move around much, she is harassed by her drunken son. The only son, instead of giving her loving care, is denying food for her most of the time. Many times, her neighbours have to give her food for her survival. On a day when she received food provisions that will fetch her almost for a month, she exclaimed “May the God of love and care, whose unfailing love never cease to provide me what I need. My heartfelt gratitude to BSI for the food provision and thanked God for His unfailing compassion upon her life in this most difficult time.”

Spreading love in tough times

Mrs. Lalchhungi (28 years old), a widow from Mizoram, contracted HIV from her late husband along with her son. She has even decided to leave her elder daughter in the care of TNT Home (an orphanage). She is unhealthy and is therefore in no position to earn her own living. They had even been evicted from their rented house because she did not have the rent to pay. The covid-19 pandemic has made her life more miserable. She goes from house to house collecting garbage, and she also works in making stone chips. When she received the food kits along with the Bible from the BSI, she exclaimed that never in her life had she received such plenty and precious gifts.

"..I am really, really thankful for the gifts.."

For a good many years Mrs. Lalhmachhuani (age 46) had been selling vegetables door-to-door. The current lockdown due to Covid19 Pandemic restricts her from doing this business, and she had to change her work by collecting clothes for washing in their small rented house. Her husband, unfortunately, has lost his eyesight almost completely that any proper job is almost impossible for him. He could only earn a small amount by carrying domestic gas cylinders for neighbours during daylight. In such a situation the couple have to look after their daughter and two of Lalhmachhuani’s nieces who had lost their father. It is not easy for them to manage themselves with all the challenges they have been facing. Receiving the gifts from the BSI, Lalhmachhuani exclaimed, “I am speechless, I don’t know what to say…I am really, really thankful for the gifts, especially the Bible which I am desperately in need of.”