Have you ever experienced beauty in brokenness?
I just returned home from the Christian Alliance for Orphans annual summit. Wow. This phrase, “beauty in brokenness,” wove throughout each testimony I heard.
The summit felt tailored to Mission to Children. God introduced me to new ministry friends whose collective experience can directly better our own work in the ministry fields of India, where only 2.1% of the population is Christian. (Keep praying!)
Testimony after testimony echoed the grace of God. Several of the speakers had been deeply wounded as children. Yet God’s amazing love pursued them and called them out of their darkest moments. One speaker, a woman born and abandoned in Korea during the war, professed, “I stand here by the grace of God. I share with you that I’ve been adopted twice: Once into a biological family, but first into God’s family through Jesus Christ.”
As an infant, she had almost been taken for dead. But God spoke to an exhausted Christian Swedish nurse. “She’s mine,” the nurse heard. She wouldn’t allow that little body to be thrown away like garbage.
This nurse heard, and she believed God’s declaration that this little girl belonged to Him … beauty in brokenness. (Did you know that Mission to Children began as a result of children orphaned during the Korean War? That crisis deeply affected our founder, Rev. JD Carlson.)
Let’s consider the vulnerable children you and I are helping in India.
Youth like 16-year-old Anusha whose stepfather is an abusive alcoholic. She found refuge from the domestic violence at our sponsored Beracah ministry hub in Bangalore. Your ongoing partnership enables her to receive essential care and education that will help limit the risks she may otherwise face. In theory, Anusha’s own family would be the best place for her to grow up. But because of the abuse at home, this isn’t an option right now.
When Anusha visits her home in the slums, she shares the gospel with other children. She actually revisits the place of her pain in the power of the gospel, armed with her favorite verses, Romans 8:38-39! This is amazing grace, beauty in brokenness. It’s a great example of how, through your help, God’s great name is being made known in her surrounding communities.
This month we’re raising funds to help Anusha and other impoverished children in the area attend school. Some of these children have blind parents, others are suffering from leprosy, and most are stigmatized because of caste. Society’s rejection of these children has opened a door for the gospel.
As God’s children through faith in Christ,
we can demonstrate His love to marginalized children by moving toward their brokenness, not away from it. We know God has created each one of them for His glory, for beauty in brokenness.
Not every child’s narrative unfolds the way Anusha’s story has. Yet God’s word will not return void. His promises are our foundation to keep reaching out.
One supporter has enabled 125 children in India to attend school this year. Today, will you help us secure an education so that all 880 children such as Anusha can attend school?
For God’s glory,
Byron Garmo, President
