As we were in India in February 2008, we found out about the hopeless future that the widows are bound to, unless someone pulls them out of the lie that they are now cursed, and replaces it with the truth that they have new life in Jesus. You see, at the time a woman becomes a widow (and she could be anywhere from 15-80, maybe younger or older), she becomes a curse – according to Indian culture. She cannot touch babies, she is not allowed at the community festivals – she is believed to be a walking curse and people stay away from her, treating her as if she is evil and that anything she now touches will also become cursed. As difficult as it is to imagine, she is thrown out on the street and forsaken by all of her family, her village and community. Often she has no vocation, yet she is the soul bread winner. She has no way of receiving an education for herself or her children, as they are all banned from the educational system. Many women, and even children, are often sold, or go into prostitution, because it is the only hope that they have to bring in money and therefore food, for their family. As far as hope for remarriage? No way! That could never happen…BUT GOD! He can do ALL things, crossing any cultural barrier. What is impossible with man is possible with God! So again as you can imagine, without God’s intervention, the moment a woman becomes a widow she is bound to a hopeless existence. Not only for her, but sadly for her children as well.
Although her situation seems hopeless, God can still step in. And He does step in by using people such as you and I to make a place available for them. A place that they can call their own. In the case of Kingdom Reflections, this place would be the Father’s House, or His Dwelling Place, and therefore would become their house or dwelling place. And because they are now His daughters, it would be their house. Everything that is His is now theirs because they have been adopted into His family and are no longer widows, but are daughters of the Most High God!
Kingdom Reflections will not stop with simply building a dwelling place for them, but we also want to teach them trades so that they can start supporting themselves. For anyone that has not been to India or hasn't heard about the materials with intricate embroidery and jewelry sewn into them, it is INCREDIBLE! This is one of the trades we would like to teach them, along with candle and jewelry making. We will continue to seek the Lord for wisdom and direction as to what other trades would be profitable for these women to learn, so that they can provide for themselves and their children.
As I mentioned already, the Lord has blessed us with land that did NOT cost us a penny! This land actually belongs to Faith Welfare Society, and is in the same enclosed and protected area where the children live and attend school. It was originally going to be a garden, yet nothing would grow. This caused Lata and Abraham to wonder if the Lord had other ideas for this area, and He did! When we met it was apparent that we had the same heart and passion for these women. So, the Lord spoke to Lata and Abraham, and confirmed it with us, and they gave us the land for free! Not only do we now have the land but, we also have it in an enclosed area, and are comforted with knowing that it will be overseen by Lata and Abraham, who love these women at last as much as we do!
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We have already met with an engineer to give us a price and draw up a plan. The plan is still very rough because we are still working on the ideas for the building. Our desire is to build in such a way that as the money comes in we will be able to build up from the first floor. The first floor would be about 1,000 square foot building, at a cost between $35-45.00 per square foot. The reason for the price range is that the soil on which this dwelling will be built is called black soil, and it requires the foundation to go quite a bit deeper than other types of soil. This cost per square foot includes everything; electricity, plumbing, painting, doors, windows, etc. In order to begin building we would need to send the first of three equally divided installments, around $12,000 if the price is at $35.00 per square foot.
As far as the other details such as the name of the home, decorating, furniture and other such things, we are still praying and asking the Lord to show us exactly what He wants. Our desire is that their home will be decorated in such a way as to symbolize the rest, peace and hope that the Lord is having them enter into. It will be a place of sanctuary and refuge. Creating this space will be the fun part for those of us who are creative and artistically gifted, and we can’t wait!
Although this is only a small glimpse of what we believe God wants us to do, we are making this available to you so that you can pray and ask the Lord how He would want for you to join in with Kingdom Reflections and help with His heart’s desire for these women and their beautiful children. Anything that is given will be such a blessing for these incredible ladies. The sooner we have the money, the quicker we can get started on the building, and the sooner these beautiful women will have their home.
We are looking at fund raising possibilities, and will keep you updated with those. If you are gifted in this area and would like to participate, please let us know as we always welcome new ideas and help! We are also making it so that every purchase that is made online in our store at www.kingdomreflections.org, will go to the building of this home and others like it. In the store we have hand made jewelry from Uganda, some items that I will be listing from India, books, and other things that will be added as we have them available. There is also a PayPal donate button on the Bio page, as well as on the Contact/Donate page. You may also mail donations to: Kingdom Reflections, PO Box 210099, Nashville, TN 37221. We are currently going through the process of becoming a non profit, so if you have any questions concerning tax deductions, please let us know and we will get back to you promptly! |
If you would like more details on this project, please feel free to contact us by email at: kingdomreflections@gmail.com, or by phone at: 615-593-2207.
The Lord bless you, the Lord make His face shine upon you and your loved ones, and REMEMBER… this is a year of New Beginnings! Watch in FAITH and see the Lord take you and catapult you into the promises that He has made to you, promises that are for THIS time and THIS season! The old HAS been completed, NOW the NEW has begun! For such a time as this!