[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the Love Justice Podcast where we hear from different voices who are joining us in the fight against modern day slavery. Today's episode is part of our Stories edition. Here's your host, Paula Cornell.
My name is Paula Cornell and you're listening to a stories edition of the Love justice podcast. For this episode I spoke with Nirmala, a young woman who had spent her childhood in our family homes. Listening to her share her story, I was completely riveted. Not for anything Love justice was able to do in her life, but for her immense faith to look back on her life and see the hand of God. If you're just tuning in, most of our work today revolves around fighting human trafficking. But our origin story back in 2004 revolved around caring for orphaned and abandoned children on the streets of South Asia. Today we have 15 family homes in which dedicated house parents care for up to 10 orphaned or abandoned children. The long term goal is that these children grow up to graduate college and become difference makers for Christ. Nirmila was around 9 or 10 years old when she came to the family homes with her two brothers after being orphaned.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: My name is Nirmala, I am 22 years old. I used to live in my village with my grandmother.
It was like very difficult for us because we lost our father when we are I was in nine, nine years and my brother was too small and our mother also like at the same time like I lost my mother when I was six months no slush but she left me and at the same time like brothers, my father like marriage, new women and after my father death like she also left us.
And at that time for three of us it was like very hard for us because we used to stay with our grandmother. We don't have our grandpa so only grandmother. She also did not have like job labor or something and it was like very hard for us to stay at there.
We don't have so much of facilities and we don't have money to go to school and we don't have money to buy the foods, all the things. It was like very difficult for us to live there at that time but after like I think like God has like different plan for us in each and every everyone life.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: I hope you can hear the emotion in her voice. She paused much longer than this recording shows as tears came to her eyes.
Moved by this powerful profession of faith, I asked her to tell me how she came to know Jesus.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: Our family was one who believed pure Hinduism, who believed to another Hindu religion. They follow all the, all the things that are Done in Hinduism. So in our family so that at the first time we don't like Christian.
We don't like Christian even we don't want to like listen the Jesus name also. But after sometime our family like they die. Like every year there is one people who die from our family. So there was like so many Christian people who are living around us and the church is also so near in our home. So there after so many people death in our family we were like so small. But my father, he became so.
I don't know how to tell but he was just losing his mind. He's just losing his mind. He's so different. So at the same time like so after his condition is getting so worse so that we try, we talk with each other like our family they talk with each other and they decide to believe in God because they knew like if we believe to that Jesus Christ then he will like heal our father. So like we decide to believe Jesus Christ by leaving our Hindu religion. So and at the time like we believe, we decide to believe Jesus Christ. So we asked some of the people of who believe Jesus Christ to come in our home and do the things what they do in their chores or something and we ask to pray for us. So at the same time we believe in God, they believe our family like grandma, father, they believed to God. But at the same time after my family believed to God the next morning my father died.
And after that that even though like my father died, my grandmother she was, she says just like even though he died, I will not live to Jesus Christ because like so many, many people of our relative came to to our home after like my father died and he said like they said like just leave it because all because you believe to him Jesus Christ your son die so that just leave like leave it. But my grandmother, she was like so believer. Like she said like even though like I die, my family all will die. Like I'm not left to Jesus Christ.
And now there are same thing happening in our family because all of our family is not following the Jesus Christ. But my grandmother, she still like following him.
Even though we have like hard time also good time also even though what is the situation is. But we like believe to Jesus Christ and we are so happy to get him in our life.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: In case that was hard to understand, Nirmala shared that after watching family members die year after year and living among many Christians, her Hindu family decided to leave their faith and accept Jesus as Lord in hopes of him healing her father from his sickness. Instead he died the Very next day. But rather than abandon their newfound faith, her grandmother seemed to realize that she found something more precious than life itself. It was this faith journey that brought Nirmullah and her brothers to love justice.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: After our father death, we believed to Jesus Christ and we went to church.
And George pastor know our background, like family background.
So he when he was like visiting he like I think if you go have chance to go there, like your future will be good. You will be I think better than here. Because there was no one, only our grandmother who can like support for us, who can care for us. But at the same time like she is old and she don't have like sufficient money to complete all of our need. So like pastor after that pastor sent some of the documents and after one year we got.
We are chosen from.
And we came because like after our like Pastor George Pashra he recommend us to like come here because we don't have that much of family good family background. So he knew our like family background or average situation of our. Of our.
And after the select talks we came back, we waited for like one years.
And after one year they people like called to pastor or they said they are selected for their or something. And I was doing my something in my home and pastor just come and he asked us everything and in last he said you are going.
And at that time like I was happy also because I think that I feel like I can get good education, good environment and that thing make me feel like better and happy. So good. And I was like so happy at that time moment even like we just like waited for like one years.
When we are like waiting for one year, I feel like.
Like I think like we will not select at. At here so that it take like so long years to from. In one years also like we did not get any any news from here. So I feel like are not going there or just leave it so that after. But after one year like it was like sudden suddenly they call us and they like told us like you are going so.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: So as new Christians, Nirmala attended church with her brothers and grandmother. And the pastor there felt compassion for their plight. He knew of Love Justice's programs for children and he helped them apply to go live in the family homes. But it took a year before the Homs had the capacity to take the three children. And during that time Nirmila began to lose hope. Then finally the call came that they had been accepted into the program and they traveled there to begin a new season of life.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: It was like totally different from the Place where I used to live at that place where I live we know like everyone mostly like we know every people are there. But coming at the first time in I feel like I don't know anyone. How can I stay here?
Coming to here was like very different. Like even though like we I have my brother with me I feel like it was like scary first time because no I don't know anyone in here.
So like it was I. I was like afraid also because I did not know anything or anyone. I was thinking like what will happen?
Just that. But after knowing that all the things, after knowing parents, all the things in home it feel like better feel like own home.
And at their like first time like we are like afraid. We did not become like so close to our like family member also. But slowly we become like so friendly with each other. I got new brother and sister like own by God grace and new family, new parents. At the first time like I when I came first time like I told like the old mummy Baba that feel like so special for me it was like very different feeling and it was like very good. And after that we started our school journey and also getting support was like very like unexpected. It was like they like really support us, they love us, care for us. At the same time there was like so many brothers and sister so it was like good for me. Like I don't have very difficult time after 12 months.
No it was not like difficult because after like one month we became like so close. Like we feel like we don't feel like they are not our like own. We feel like they are our own brother, sister, we are from like same blood. We feel like that. So it was like not so hard after like yeah I at that time I was young but I don't know like God is doing this but after, after I came I know knew the God very closely and I spent time with him.
After knowing that it was like God plan I was like very like shocked because most of the time we just want our result like so suddenly we just aren't at the same time. But God has like different plan for us.
After that I feel like it was like God plan he has already planned for us so that by his plan, his grace we are here, we are here. All the support from we get to our from our family and God and also pastor we are here so thankful for them.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: Nirmala is now in her second year of studying to be a medical lab technician. By God's grace and providence he made a way for her to receive the support she needed to thrive and flourish. Her countenance is light and joyful, carrying the peace of someone who trusts in the Lord. I do believe she will carry that light everywhere she goes and refresh the hearts of many. I hope that her story encourages you that God has a plan for your life too, even if it seems to be taking a long time. Even if you are growing discouraged by your circumstances. He is faithful to care for you and to lead and guide you in his perfect timing.
Nirmila's story is a direct result of some generous people that have committed to stand with us in supporting these kids. You've probably heard the phrase it takes a village to raise a child. This is so true. If you'd like to be part of our community caring for vulnerable kids, please visit our
[email protected] to give or to learn more. Thanks for listening.
