I write this in the middle of a 10-day trip around India and Nepal with CBF field personnel Sam Bandela.  Sam is showing me the work that he is doing in this area of the world and we are meeting local partners.  In Hyderabad, we saw the sewing school that Sam began through which he has helped rescue 400 girls from trafficking and taught them a job skill.  When they graduate from the program, they receive a sewing machine, a diploma and help making a new start in life.  I saw where these girls and others from the community worship and have daily prayers and Bible study.  As we sat there, the whole building shook when the quarry about a mile away set off their daily dynamite.  Pray that the buildings will stay strong despite the daily blasts, and that the work will grow. 

In Delhi, we traveled through the slums.  In all my travels (growing up in Africa, through Asia, etc…) I have only seen poverty of this magnitude in a couple of places.  I watched a little boy sit 2 feet from the main road and play in the dirt.  He was oblivious to the thousands of people, animals, cars, trucks, vans, bikes, motorcycles narrowly missing him.  I wondered what was running through his mind as he played.  This was so normal to him that it didn’t merit a second glance.  Pray for the pastors here that Sam works with as they minister in this huge slum, that they stay safe and have the strength to carry on each day. One pastor is very sick with dengue fever.  Pray for his recovery.  Pray for the people, that they know God that they stay hopeful, that they receive God into their hearts and become a blessing to their neighbor. 

Yesterday and this morning we spent time with some Brazilian missionary partners in Nepal.  They are ministering by rescuing Nepalese girls and boys (and sometimes families) that have been trafficked.  Their story is amazing.  Surviving off of only $500 a month to begin the ministry, they came to Nepal 9 years ago with only a God-given dream and the firm conviction that God would provide.  Now, they have 5 houses with 170 rescued girls and boys living in them.  They have 300 kids on scholarship and being rehabilitated while living with their parents.  They also have just opened a school for the kids.  Some of the first girls rescued are now the leaders.  One, is the president of the NGO, another, the president of their import/export business for the crafts that they make to help sustain the ministry.  Others administrate and run the homes while others are teachers and pastors. 

As we sat and listened to the stories and heard some of the girls who have a band play their music, I saw joy in their eyes.  They called the Brazilian couple “uncle” and “aunt”.  They sang an original song about hope and God’s ever-present love.  They told of their desire to see others come to know God and their hope for the transformation of Nepal and the world.  I thought to myself…this is the gospel—this is life—for this, life is worth living.  It was a great reminder.  I need those every often.

Have you discovered why life is worth living?