It's International Widows Day and today we're celebrating God's perfect solution to the widow crisis in India. Being a widow should never stand in the way of having a full life. But what if you were married to a drunk who lost all your property and died leaving you with nothing but a pile of debt? Chronmi, widowed at age 56, knows exactly what that’s like. Because that “what if” is her reality. Her's husband debts forced her to move into a tiny rented house with a tin roof, no electricity and no water. She washes her neighbors' clothes to put food on the table when she's not fetching water or collecting firewood. 

But God had a plan for Chronmi, who had practiced the animistic beliefs of her family until she found Christ 16 years before her husband died.  When liver failure took his life, Chronmi looked beyond her despair and called on the One who promises to provide for widows and orphans in their distress. And God proved faithful sending caring believers in His Kerusomen India Church Family and financial assistance from KGM partners here in America to rescue her. 

Last year another tragedy struck suddenly, Chromni's youngest daughter was widowed and left alone to provide for her son who is mentally disabled.  How God transformed this new tragedy from" ashes to beauty" (Psalm 61:3) is a perfect example of  how God's thoughts and ways are far above ours... 

KGM Board Member Maureen Barber l Rejoicing in God's Solution for Widows

 

We’re so inspired by our KGM USA community. In honor of International Widows Day we’re saluting Maureen Barber, one of three widows who serve on our volunteer KGM Board. Maureen devotes an enormous amount of time, talent, and resources as an advocate for widows here by donating her time as a GriefShare facilitator and in India by donating her treasure monthly to help an abandoned widow. Maureen is a beautiful example of how God brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3) in the lives of widows. He welcomes them into a new community - His church family – and offers them a hope that lasts.  God's church, His people, are His solution. They are the ambassadors He sends in answer to the global widow crisis.  It's not a momentary social solution. It's a relationship of LOVE.  And that changes EVERYTHING. Maureen models that abiding love for widows here and it stretches all the way to widows in India. 

Maureen Finds Healing in Community

"When my husband died, I carefully buried all the grief inside of me and moved on. Twenty-five years later God brought me to the realization...

KGM Partner FNF Widow Ministry l Rejoicing in God’s Solution for Widows

Friends Needing Friends Widow Ministry Celebrates 33 Years 
of Service to Widows Internationally

International Widow's Day is Wednesday and in honor of widows everywhere we want to highlight ministries that are serving widows and are also Kerusomen partners.

Today we want to  applaud the ladies of Friends Needing Friends Widow Ministry. They are a perfect example of sacrificial service to widows and faithful partners and friends of Kerusomen for many, many years.

They are also way too humble to toot their own horn. But we're not so here goes:

They have rescued 18 India widows who were abandoned; they assist monthly with food and medicine; 

They sent emergency food in times of crisis;

They support KGM's New Hope chickens & goats ministry;

They sponsor widows into KGM Isos, a women's savings and training ministry;

Despite most of them being on fixed budgets, they have given $7,271 to assist widows in India over the past 12 months. Incredible! 

But the physical needs, as important as they are, pale in comparison to the relationship of love they've built though their fervent prayers for each other. The FNF widows pray for a different Indian widow each month and treasure every update from the mission field.  Likewise, KGM India headquarters reports their widows call weekly to ask after their American sisters and pass on the message that they are praying constantly for them. Pastor Saha says that during their Covid lockdowns they had more concern for their sisters here, than they did for themselves.

Friends Needing Friends is a beautiful example of how God brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3) in the lives of widows. He rescues them by sending HIs church family to offer them His hope, a hope that lasts.

 

God's church, His people, are the ambassadors he sends in answer to the global widow crisis. It's not just a social or economic answer. It's an answer of LOVE. And that changes EVERYTHING.

The bond of love these American and Indian widows have for one another - even though they have never met and probably never will in this life - is reflected in the letter below from Tom Caprio, President of Kerusomen Gospel Ministries:

Rejoicing in God's Solution for India's Widows l KGM 2021 International Widows Day

 

God’s Perfect Solution for India’s Widows

International Widows Day, June 23, 2021

We’ve all heard the horror stories about widows in India. Shunned. Shamed. Scorned. Sadly, they’re all true. Kerusomen has a Widow Rescue Ministry in India and we’ve documented some of the abuses in articles and videos. This Wednesday, June 23rd, is International Widow’s Day, an awareness day set aside to highlight the human rights violations of widows globally.

But this year Kerusomen is going to do something different. We’re going to focus on the only lasting solution for widows: God’s solution. It’s called His church. Because when God’s people get involved, everything changes. 

Over the next couple of days we’ll share the Three Steps of God’s Solutions (Rescue, Community, and Empower)  through the stories of KGM partners who work with widows here in America and who also support KGM’s Widow Ministry in India. You won’t want to miss a thing so check-in here every day as we REJOICE IN GOD’S SOLUTION.