Photo Courtesy Gospel for Asia
"Prisha stepped out of the rickshaw only to be greeted by a crowd of dirty, half-naked children running around. One woman stood nearby barely clothed–much to Prisha’s embarrassment. Animal carcasses and burning waste littered the village, creating a stench so bad passersby would speed recklessly through the village to escape it.
"Prisha had heard about this village before. Punya Basti’s residents lived in squalor with no electricity, running water, or toilets. Most of the villagers left for months at a time to find low-paying work and beg in other areas, but they still couldn’t afford to feed their children three meals a day, much less provide for them to go to school.
"Alcohol and drug abuse ran rampant, even among children, and fights commonly broke out. On top of all this, outsiders despised the villagers for their low caste and lack of hygiene and education.
"Prisha had come to Punya Basti to serve as a Gospel for Asia Sister of Compassion, a woman missionary committed to sharing Christ’s love in practical ways, specifically among poor and marginalized people groups.
"GFA pastor Hoob Kumar, who served in the village, was having difficulty ministering to the women.
“'The ladies didn’t know how to wear clothes properly,” Pastor Hoob recalls, “and the mothers weren’t bothered that the vessels they cooked with and ate food from were not clean.”
"Moreover, the women couldn’t open up to Pastor Hoob because he was a man. He knew they needed someone to come alongside them, educate them, and listen to their struggles, so he asked his leaders to send Sisters of Compassion to Punya Basti..."
Filth, Stench Don't Stop Sisters of Compassion
by Lindsay Steele
Mission Network News
"Prisha had heard about this village before. Punya Basti’s residents lived in squalor with no electricity, running water, or toilets. Most of the villagers left for months at a time to find low-paying work and beg in other areas, but they still couldn’t afford to feed their children three meals a day, much less provide for them to go to school.
"Alcohol and drug abuse ran rampant, even among children, and fights commonly broke out. On top of all this, outsiders despised the villagers for their low caste and lack of hygiene and education.
"Prisha had come to Punya Basti to serve as a Gospel for Asia Sister of Compassion, a woman missionary committed to sharing Christ’s love in practical ways, specifically among poor and marginalized people groups.
"GFA pastor Hoob Kumar, who served in the village, was having difficulty ministering to the women.
“'The ladies didn’t know how to wear clothes properly,” Pastor Hoob recalls, “and the mothers weren’t bothered that the vessels they cooked with and ate food from were not clean.”
"Moreover, the women couldn’t open up to Pastor Hoob because he was a man. He knew they needed someone to come alongside them, educate them, and listen to their struggles, so he asked his leaders to send Sisters of Compassion to Punya Basti..."
Filth, Stench Don't Stop Sisters of Compassion
by Lindsay Steele
Mission Network News
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