Sewing Schools in Corona Time

Millions of migrant workers and day labourers are starving. People in the slums are forced not to leave their settlements under threat of police violence. Those who dare are brutally beaten with bamboo sticks. Nevertheless, many try to find “food” for themselves and their families in the garbage containers outside their slums. They are more afraid of starvation than of Corona and of being beaten with sticks.

Despite the difficult situation in India, our local co-workers are still fully committed to their ministry in this huge country, and their reports are very encouraging. For example, our Frontline Workers in Northern India have remained very active.

They write:
“The Lord is doing great things among us. Despite the curfew, we were allowed to help some of the believers with rice, flour, and other essentials. We can also serve the Lord through telephone and video calls. We‘re praying with former Muslims through video calls and can also do a lot of counselling. Many people are very afraid during this pandemic and are able to find comfort from the Word of God.

We can also continue to offer sewing lessons for Muslim girls. Every day we are able to teach the girls who have a mobile phone by video call. They are learning how to sew a protective mask made of cotton. In this way, they can bring joy to their family members and also to their neighbours. I then pass on the word of God to them. On Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we held a special video conference with the participants of the sewing school and some additional former Muslims. I was able to talk about the death of Jesus on the cross and the meaning of His resurrection at Easter. Please pray for all our girls in the sewing school that they may be especially comforted by Jesus Christ during this curfew and that more girls may come to faith in Jesus.”

Our co-worker has sent us a long prayer list with 105 pictures of our sewing students and their families. One of the girls is Seema. She started to study the Bible eagerly and has grown in the Word of God. A few months ago her father suffered a broken arm in an accident. The whole family thought it was a curse of Allah because Seema had started to read the Christian book, the Bible.

We thank God that since the beginning of the curfew, her family members have become more open towards the Word of God and are now reading Seema‘s Bible themselves. We pray that the whole family may come to faith in JesusChrist.

Each of the girls have not only been given their own sewing machines, but also a Bible in their mother tongue Urdu – the predominant language of the Muslims in northern India. This has had a great impact. On the prayer list there are many fathers, grandfathers and mothers of the sewing students. They have now become very interested in the Word of God themselves.

Please continue to pray for the work there in India!