This summer the Lord provided me with the chance to love on a set of people unlike any other. He truly heard my cries and allowed me to serve Him in a country that has been on my heart for years now. India was a new world for me, and the time that I spent there impacted me in more ways then I will ever be able to explain in words. The people I got to share life with managed to change the way I think, perceive and even love. I went to to India to change lives by letting Christ love those around me well, and to share with all that I encountered the hope found in a Savior. The Lord however had bigger plans and changed my heart at the same time.
One of the many women who changed my life lived a few steps away from me. She owns a little shop on the beach that she has run since she was eight years old. This woman's name is *Leah, and her story is one that I will always carry with me:
In India, women are truly at the bottom of the totem pole. They are viewed as inferior and it is a shame to your family have female children. It is illegal for women to find out the gender of their baby before giving birth because they are likely to have an abortion upon discovering they are carrying a girl. Leah's father passed away days before she was born and all her mother wanted was a boy to carry on the family, obviously when Leah came out it was a huge disappointment.
Let's stop and soak that in for a minute. A beautiful daughter of the Lord is placed on this earth and everyone welcoming her into the world already hates her. Leah's mother tried to kill her the second she found out but Jesus stepped in and her uncle took her away before she was suffocated. For the next thirteen years, Leah was verbally and physically abused by her family, particularly her mom. She never experienced love, or the beauty of Christ's comfort because she didn't know who he was and no one around her cared for her. She was married to her cousin and soon became pregnant. She gave birth to Natasha at fifteen, and was immediately hated all over again.
A short time later, she gave birth to another girl and her family lost hope in her having any boys. She was beat often by her husband, even during her pregnancies. Leah however, remembered her own childhood and vowed to love her girls with all that she had because no one else would. She is the most incredible mother to those kids and she loves them with ever ounce of her heart. During her next pregnancy, Leah was beat by her husband quite frequently because he expected another girl. One night he came to her store and beat her, left her to find a way home and took her money she had earned that day. Two days after she was brutally beat, and left behind to suffer and possibly die, she gave birth to a son, Robbie. Leah now has four children, three girls and a boy, and she gives them all that she can everyday. She loves without limits because she knows what not having love feels like. I was lucky enough to become great friends with Leah this summer, and share with her stories everyday about this Jesus guy she had heard bits and pieces about. Leah wants to believe. She wants to devote her life to a God that loves and protects her because nobody else will or wants to. Satan's hold on Leah is fear. She fears what will happen to her children and to her if she chooses to believe and tell her husband. She has no doubt he will be furious, and far from understanding or encouragement. Regardless, I pray that you all pray for Leah's salvation. I ask you to pray with shameless persistence that Christ will be strong for her and that I will be able to see her beautiful face in Heaven someday.
Leah is an unbelievable woman who taught me to love with all that I am. She reminded me that not everyone has love, or has ever experienced it. She encouraged me to be courageous and selfless in my love for others. She taught me to be strong when the world is against me. She taught me to never give up because there will always be someone who needs love and it is the easiest gift I can give. I challenge each of you to love today with all that you are, because you never know when you will meet a Leah. You may never know a person's past, but you can change their future simply by loving them well.
Update: Since this blog was written, Leah has become a Believer! Many staff and volunteers have loved Leah over the years and have been able to share a part in her journey.
Kate
Goa Volunteer
written summer '11* Please note: name has been changed for protection.
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