Catalyst Love & Care
Day 3 in India went well. Today we went to experience the differences in the health care system in India. If you are wealthy, you can afford any luxury possible. If you are poor you wont even be admitted to the government hospital unless you have someone to take care of you (change you, your linens, feed you, provide therapy, etc…). The government hospitals are the worst pla
ces possible. They say you go in sick with one thing, and come out with 5 new things. So bad that you would do anything to avoid going there. It broke our hearts!
We continue to encounter the poor where ever we go, whether beggars on the street where babies are often stolen to beg with and fed alcohol to make them more compliant for begging or desperate men trying to sell you things out side your window. The work Catalyst does to bring dignity and Christ’s love to those in poverty is inspiring. We heard the story of one girls plight here in Dehli. Married off at the age of 13 she was horribly beaten, demeaned, and abused by her “husband.” Often he would lock her out on the street f
rom the humble “home” they shared. She was a great risk in this situation, and several times contemplated killing herself. She was referred to Catalyst just over 3 years ago and since then God has done amazing things. She has been doing a lot of healing, both physically and emotionally. She has completed some schooling in fashion design and is now managing the distribution floor of a small clothing manufacturer. Through the consistent love and care of the Catalyst staff sh
e saw first hand what being loved the way Jesus loves entails. She began to see her self not as “waste” or a thing to be used and abused, but rather a child of the King. She began to see herself as beautifully and wonderfully made. She began to see what it means to follow Jesus and how different that was compared to the desperation she encountered living next to the Hindu temple relying on the alms that people would give out on their way to the temple. She began to encounter the love of Christ and that has made all the difference in the world. We are grateful that we have had the opportunity to continue the work of valuing each and every girl we encounter and to encourage the work of Catalyst here in the city of Delhi.
*second image shown here is the red light district