We first met this remarkable woman last month when we were visiting a remote village in Tamil Nadu, India. She is a woman of great courage and influence even though all of the “cultural markers” in her life would tell you otherwise.

First, she is a woman. Many times and especially in remote villages of Tamil Nadu are not valued even by their immediate families. Young girls are the property of their parents and their future will be determined and marriage arranged by their parents. They have little to no voice.

Second, Esther has never attended school. She is illiterate and cannot write her name. Her parents were of the poorest of the poor and never saw the value of sending her to school. So, as a young girl she spent most days collecting firewood and fetching water.

Third, she has never been married. Many girls in India are never given a last name. When young they are often referred to as “the daughter of…” and when their marriage is arranged they become “the wife of… from…” Her value is never her own it is derived by her caste and family status.

Finally, Esther is a Christian. In a country where the vast majority of people are Hindu, becoming a Christ-follower comes at a very high cost. Most times you will not only loose your birth and property rights but your family will disown you.

Yet, in spite of, or maybe it is because of these factors, Esther has become one of the most influential people in her village as well as four neighboring villages. She is a pastor who shares her faith by asking others to read to her scripture and then quietly explains to them what they have just read. Esther demonstrates her faith by rescuing unwanted baby girls from certain death by pleading with their birth parents not to kill them.

She does this by caring for her friends and neighbors right where they are but loves them to not leave them there.

This is why we were so excited to have the opportunity to partner with Esther and start our Prenatal & Newborn Care program in this area. Our surveys have revealed that there are hundreds of baby girls killed each and every year just in this region alone. Most just like Esther except she was allowed to live.

I can think of no one more equipped to turn this culture upside down than Esther. We have so much to learn from her.

Thanks to Dr. Vipin Kalia (TRP board member) and his connections in India we have the opportunity to visit with an Indian doctor working in Haryana, India. This state has one of the highest rates of female gendercide in all of India.

It is our hope to be able to share our successes so that they too can implement the Prenatal & Newborn Care initiative in villages in Haryana.

Will keep you posted!

Three years ago she was rescued from under a sticker bush where she had been thrown by her birth parents. She was moments from death. Literally, a pack of wild dogs were circling her when a pastor’s wife walked by and heard her faint cries. Today she celebrates her 3rd birthday complete with cake and presents. She is well loved by and completely cared for by her foster family. She is their daughter.

Because of our donor support we were able to give and demonstrate her value. Our mission – that every girl child in India would be able to celebrate her birthday with bangles, bright dresses and lots of cake!

She’s the Change We Wish to See in India!

It has been an amazing year watching our small initiatives bring life, value and opportunity to the Indian girl child spark a movement across south India.

Because of your generosity with have seen the survival rate of girl babies increase 75 to 80% in remote villages.

We have heard foster parents tell us they no longer want our monthly financial support because they believed it was their responsibility to not only love and provide care for these abandoned girls but to support them financially.

We have seen a barren plot of ground be reclaimed through drip irrigation that now provides vegetables and other produce to 85 school children, single parent families and the forgotten elderly.

Bethel School Children Singing Before Class We have watched preschool and kindergarten children sing from the depth’s of their souls as they prepared to enter their newly renovated school.

We have listened to young women weep as they share the gratitude and hope they now have as they study to become a nursing assistant which will not only increase their income by 3 fold but will give them dignity and self-worth.

We have watched fathers proudly hold their young daughters sharing they never knew a girl could bring so much joy and happiness to their families.

We have seen children from the poorest of poor Indian families excel in their school work because their teachers not only taught them well but were adequately compensated for their worth.

We have been inspired by the reaction of nearly 1,200 college students after they were confronted with the horrors of female infanticide and sex determination feticide and then bringing their very best to encourage Indian girls to hold onto their hopes and dreams.

We have partnered with an amazing company to bring joy to a group of orphan girls.

Even though my eyes, ears and heart has experienced all the good and right of our efforts, I must admit there are days that I must fight through the melancholy of the challenges that still remain ahead.

I remember sitting with a middle-aged women as she wept over her village that kills hundreds of baby girls each year and casually drops their dying bodies in the well in front of their small clinic.

I learn of an ultrasound device the size of my iPhone that is being sold to evil men in India so they can illegally tell a family the sex of their unborn for $10 and direct them to a friend’s abortion clinic where 99 out of 100 aborted fetuses are girl babies.

I sit and listen to the director of an orphanage tell a hospital they cannot take any more abandoned newborn girls this month. Even though the orphanage actually has a waiting list of Indian families wanting to adopt a girl baby they cannot take more babies because the government will not allow them to charge enough for their basic services to rescue, care and place these death-bond newborns.

So, there are times I must fight through the whys. Why am I not smarter so I can raise more money? Why am I not more convincing when I share the story so more will be inspired to give? Why is it so easy for me to be critical of others’ excesses when I have a constant personal battle discerning my over indulgent wants from my more than adequate needs?

As we approach the end of 2011 here is what I know – We know we can rescue Indian girl babies from death. We know how to begin to transform a culture so that it values their daughters as much as they do their sons. We know we have remarkable field partners and we are astounded on how much they can accomplish with so little resources.

Here is what I believe. The financial cost to bring life, value and opportunity to an Indian girl baby is $500. That’s the number. $500 allows us to change her fate from death to life. The transaction can be as simple as subsidizing the orphanage’s costs for an Indian family to adopt a baby girl to the complexities of transforming a village that is presently killing 75% of its baby girls.

$500 at times seems like a lot of money to spend. At other times I don’t think twice about it. But $500 is the cost on whether one newborn girl baby lives or dies in India in 2012. For me and my family, 2012 is a year we will learn to choose to spend our financial resources more wisely.

God bless!

This fall we are launching “Gatherings!” The goal is for Friends of Rhema to invite their close group of friends to a gathering – it can be a wine & cheese tasting party, a coffee and cookies get together or Sunday brunch.

At the end of the event, a group of friends will have had a great time and learned more about The Rhema Project and its mission to end the killing of baby girls in India. Each person will leave with the knowledge that they too can have a direct and meaningful impact.

If you are interested in hosting or attending one of these events, let us know and we will get you on the schedule.

One of the highlights on our trip to India last week was a surprise gathering Raj and Prema coordinated for us with 10 of the foster families living near Madurai.

Each of these girls have a unique story but each was snatched from sure death shortly after their births. Each one of these girls was at best tossed aside by their birth parents and left to die just because they were born a girl child. Rescued by Aroma Ministries they have now been placed with loving and caring foster families. Loved and secure they sleep peacefully in their new mother’s arms.

Foster care is a new concept in India. The test pilot program has seen amazing results. We are in the initial stages of developing an aggressive training program that will train and equip thousands of churches and tens of thousands of church families to do the same.

We realize it will take time and effort to shift the cultural mindset that places little to no value in the girl child. Consequently, the Indian foster family is the next best solution to having the child remain with her natural born parents. Foster family care can be duplicated and replicated all over India for the fraction of the cost for a girl child to live in an orphanage. Plus, I believe it gives the church and its members a calling worth chasing after.

Earlier this week I received an email from the director of one of our field partners working in South India near Madurai. I have removed the name of the village to protect the privacy and safety of the families.

Have we eradicated the practice of female infanticide and the discrimination of the girl child in this village? Nope. But programs that have been implemented by our dedicated staff has temporarily stopped the practice that had been taking 35 to 40 girl babies each year from this one village. We must continue to push hard to address the issues that cause a culture not to value the life of their daughters. I thought you would enjoy reading part 1 of the report. Over the next few weeks we will post other parts that are also inspiring to read.

The Rhema Project first quarter report (Jan – March 2011)
Report Period: January 2011 – March 2011


Introduction: By God’s grace and with the support of The Rhema Project we were able to do minister in …varpatti village and different parts of Tamilnadu effectively during the first quarter of this New Year 2011. During this period we could save 9 children from ruthless killing and bring impact in the lives of 19 families directly and many in the villages. The USA team visit and their commitment to serve the community have touched the staffs and village people. Foster parents came forward to care the saved babies from death. The most amazing thing has happened in this village is no baby is killed in the adopted village of …varpatti during this period.

New babies in …varpatti village

Total number of children born in …varpatti: 10 (Female: 6 and Male: 4)

Baby Name : Mariswari
Parents Name: Jeyachandran and Karpooravalli

Mariswari is the first Child to the parents; hence they did not kill the baby. Initially people were hesitant to get the milk as we were recording everyday with their signature. Karpooravalli was bold and encouraged other to come forward to get the milk. She said to them that they have come to help us not to harm us. This has paved way for the other women to come forward. She is a help to many women in the village. She is influencing the village positively.

Baby Name: Anandhi
Parents Name: Anand and Mariammal

They have a male child. Anandhi was second baby to this family. The parents are daily labourers. Very rarely they get work. Thus they live in utter poverty. When Anandhi was born she was very weak and they thought the baby won’t survive. The village people told the parents to kill the baby. But we counselled them, given hope in God and provided them baby products and milk powder to strengthen the baby. Through the continue visit of our staffs and prayer they let the baby live.

Baby Name Shivani
Parents Name: Sivaraman and Muthuselvi.

Shivani is the first child to the parents. They have tractor, through which they are able to make some money. Since this was their first child they did not kill. The parents are very much thankful for the service we are offer. They said a curse is being removed from our village by our service in the village. They are very happy for our ministry in the village, after associating with our staffs, their life style is changed. They also asked us to pray for them. They are eagerly listening to the gospel.

Baby Name: Suba lakhmi
Parents Name: Muthuvel and Meenachi

This baby is fourth female child to the parents. The parents are agricultural labourers. They rarely get work. Since the baby was fourth, they were about to kill the baby. By the timely intervention of our staffs they could prevent this. Still the old ladies are persisting them to kill the baby. They said don’t have any means to help this baby to grow as they are very poor. Meenachi said, if she can get a sewing machine and tailoring training or a small petty shop in her village would help her. Kindly uphold them in your prayer.

5. Baby Name: Bharathi
Parents Name: Selvam and Vennila

This in their first child and therefore they did not kill the baby. Since they are very poor, muthupandi went to the neighbouring state Karnataka to work. He comes to the village once in a while. They are so happy for the Project and they said, This has changed the village. They also asked our staffs to pray for the baby and name her. The baby was named Bharathi, a revolutionary poet in Tamilnadu. They are so interested in knowing Jesus.

Baby Name: No Name
Parents Name: Pandi and Pitchaiammal

This is the fifth child to the parents. They have one female child already. Except the first baby all the other 3 female children were killed. During the delivery lot of blood was lost, so the husband thought his wife would die, so he left the hospital, leaving her behind. On hearing this, our staff rushed to hospital and arranged blood for her and took care of her. So, she recovered and delivered a female baby. Everyone was upset because she was a girl. So they decided to kill this baby also. After lot of counselling by our staffs, they agreed not to kill. Pandi goes for cutting woods. They asked our staff, if we give them some help for the baby to grow would be highly helpful. They want their children to study that in their biggest desire.

Two of her older sisters had already been killed. Her parents were upset she was not born a boy. They made plans to kill her. No one will notice. No one will care. It (infanticide/feticide) happens thousands of times each day in India. It has been practiced for thousands of years and It is still happening in 2011.

But wait. A man name Rajendran tells a group of pastors he has been mentoring and training that It is not God’s plan and the church must do something about. A women pastor (Esther) listens carefully and quietly resolves that she will do something about It “God willing!” Another pastor hears the same message and boldly states he will teach his church members to become foster parents, to love, care and provide for these unwanted girl babies because It can not win any longer! His congregation listens to his plea and agrees they must do this even though they are poor and have a difficult time caring for their own children.

Then. Just a few weeks later a girl baby is born to a poor Hindu family in Esther’s village. She hears that It is going to win. Not today, Esther rushes to the family and pleads with them to allow her to find a home for their unwanted daughter. They begrudgingly agree – at least they will not need to bother with helping It take the life of their third daughter.

Esther calls Rajendran. Rajendran gets the word out that It has not won today with this girl baby. A family from the second pastor’s church steps forward and shares they will take her, money is scarce but love is not.

Girl baby is named “Esther Rajathi” which means Queen Esther. A great name honoring a hero that listened to God’s word and took action so that It could not have one more girl baby made in His image.

The Rhema Project is so privileged to play a small supporting role in this story. I pray we can do more from having It win so often in India but we need your help. In fact, in my opinion, It can go straight to hell and never come back.

It – YOU CAN NOT HAVE HER!!!

She is the head midwife in one of the villages we work in in South India. We had just finished participating in the daily milk program we started a few months ago – each pregnant women receives one liter of milk and a mother with a newborn daughter receives 2 liters of milk. Sister Malar (one of our paid staff) also works with the pregnant women to educate them on prenatal care and schedules and travels with them for their monthly checkups at the hospital.

It is easy me to have rage and anger for this women when I hear her tell us that she has proudly killed 5 of her own daughters. I also know that her hands have killed (The practice in this village is the new born girl is taken from her mother at birth, placed in a jug filled with water until she expires. The dead baby girl is then buried by her siblings in the front yard of their home) hundreds if not thousands of girl babies in this village alone over her lifetime (2 years ago up to 50 girl babies were killed each year just in this one village).

But God tells me to have compassion on her. To pray for her. She has lost all hope. She has been beaten by her husband for only bearing girls (I know its the male that determines the sex of the child). She has been mocked and spit upon by her neighbors for only giving her husband one son to care for them in their old age. For years she beat her son’s wife and treated her as a slave. She has drown her own granddaughters. she hates her daughter-in-law because her husband treats her as his young second wife. Now, her daugher-in-law has started to seek revenge for the years of mistreatment and has started to beat her. You can feel the evil surrounding this women – she is most likely possessed by a demonic spirit that has attached itself to one of the many Hindu gods she worships.

In India you hear stories time and time again of a man of peace, dressed in a white robe appearing in a vision or a dream to a person. After the visit the person’s life is transformed. They become a new person in search of a true God that will give them hope, a purpose and heart of love. God may have a different plan for changing the heart and attitude of this midwife. It may be through Brother Phillip, Sister Malar, Raj, Prema or through the actions of a strange white man with gray hair from America.
Hindu Midwife
I would like to ask everyone that reads this post to download this photo, share it with others and pray with me that God will touch the heart of this misguided woman in a small rural village in South India. He already knows her name and exact location.

God’s speed!

Most times when we reflect about the magnitude of the problem of female infanticide the solution seems daunting – almost impossible to overcome. But then see Rachele’s story unfold in two short years and you think anything is possible.

June 2010. Shortly after Rachele was rescued she was so fragile and near death. Her parents did not want her because she was born with a cleft palate and lip.

Sept 2010. Smile Train performs surgery on Rachele. Aroma Ministries cares for her. The Rhema Project covers the travel costs and financially supports her foster parents.

February 2011. Today she has been adopted by an Indian family. Her parents meet all of her needs and will give her a great education.

Our financial support is no longer required. We simply get the joy of knowing she is loved and well cared for.

Together, we can do this!