Young Woman Has Plans for Slum

When it came time for Grishma to decide where she wanted to serve the Lord, it hardly seemed like a choice. Grishma had seen the slum where men earned their wages by collecting trash, where children had to beg instead of attend school, where women lived in agony as they watched their children starve. She knew what she had to do. The slum would be her ministry.

Grishma knew how easily she could have been one of these slum dwellers. It was only by the Lord’s grace that she was raised in a Christian home, the youngest of four children. She was allowed to attend school, and she had parents who loved her. Shortly after completing high school, she attended a Gospel for Asia-supported Bible college. She was an excellent student and was eager to obey the Lord by fulfilling His call on her life.

So, when Grishma learned that she could serve in the slums, she quickly volunteered to go where the Lord was calling her. She was ready.

Hope for the Hopeless

Watch the story of one missionary who, like Grishma, is willing to serve in the slums.

It is not hard to feel deep compassion for those who live in the slums. The poverty is shocking. Jobs are rare, which makes begging and trash-picking common vocations. Furthermore, many men waste what precious little money they earn on alcohol. Most families live without hope, without any means to escape. That is, until someone like Grishma comes along.

Knowing that she would be of no use without the Lord’s favor, Grishma prayed earnestly for wisdom. She decided to visit each house in the slum to build relationships, no small task in a community of 200 houses. She made a point to share with the families that there is a God who truly loves them, and then she would pray for their needs.

The people, so desperate and broken, listened to Grishma as she spoke of God’s love, a notion that was sometimes difficult for them to understand but often intriguing as well.

A Thriving Ministry

Grishma is already experiencing a great deal of fruit from her ministry. An adult literacy program was established, allowing some of the women from this slum the previously unthinkable opportunity for an education. In addition, Grishma has begun a ministry for children, keeping young ones off the streets and teaching them about the hope found in Jesus.

Recently, as the ministry has grown, two more young women have come to serve alongside Grishma. Now all three are teaching the women of this village about proper hygiene and distributing much-needed clothes to the residents. In the future, Grishma hopes to start a tailoring center where women can learn to make their own clothes and earn extra income for their families.

Grishma knows why her ministry has been blessed: “We three sisters are in God’s hands,” she explains. “Let God use us according to His desire for the expansion of His kingdom.”