Last month we were given the opportunity to help construct a hostel for pastors attending Life Mission India’s pastor training program. In the last 7 years under the leadership of Rajendran director of Life Mission India nearly 1,000 pastors have been trained on how to start and grow a church throughout southern India. Each quarter pastors return to learn how they can become better equipped on how to not only grow their church but become an agent for change within their village or community.

Over 100 of these pastors come from the Salem and Madurai districts where the highest concentration of female infanticide and gender identification feticide is occurring within the Hindu communities in all of Tamil Nadu, India.

Borewell Will Provide Fresh Drinking Water

Because of the teachings in the Bible and the Koran both Christians and Muslims do not practice the killing of their girl babies – Hindu teaching is somewhat silent about the life a girl child causing the vast majority of killings to occur within these communities. However, faith is only one of the many factors that leads to the death of between 1.5 and 3.5 million girl babies in India each year.

Consequently, these pastors when educated and equipped can become the agents of change within their neighborhoods, villages and cities – to become missional in their message by teaching their neighbors the value of the girl child, by bringing pre- and post natal care to Hindu women, by equipping their church families to become foster parents to unwanted girl babies, by being the church 24/7 not just on Sunday afternoon for a few hours.

Two years ago we wandered into a small village and celebrated the life of a newborn baby girl with the name Rhema and a small financial gift of less than $8.00 USD. It was the spark the ignited this cause. It is our hope and prayer that through this small financial gift of a borewell, kitchen and hostel will light a fire in hundreds of villages in Tamil Nadu that will directly lead to the rescue of thousands of girl babies and the changing of a cultural attitude toward the girl child.

Baby Rhema Held by Her Mother.