James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our GOD and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." One of the Scriptures we like to use regularly in our communication is from Psalms 9:18, "For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever." Simply put, this is a cruel world, but our heavenly Father's Heart is one of compassion. In this life, He wants us to care for the poor and neglected. And praise His Name, that for all eternity the injustice will come to an end!
We ask you to pray for our widows and elderly ministry in India. Toward the end of 2023 we had some great donations given in behalf of the elderly, and in January 2024 again World Challenge helped us with another $10,000 for this year. It looks like we may spend a total of about $35,000 in 2024 for the WE ministry (WE = widows & elderly). At the current rate we might have approximately an $8,000 balance going into 2025 for the WE ministry. Our regular donations for WE in '24 is about $900 a month. If we calculate the same for 2025 we might (Lord willing) have about $19,000 total to work with for the widows & elderly in 2025 (it doesn't appear as if World Challenge will be helping us in 2025). That is $16,000 less than what is needed to maintain the same level of support and care, compared to what we accomplished this year. Please pray about helping us continue blessing our widows and elderly in 2025. Of course, we would love to be able to care for more elderly next year, and care for them more extensively (such as giving larger amounts for their medical needs, and helping them with house repairs), but with the Lord's help we hope to at least maintain the same level of care in 2025 as was given in 2024.
Below is Vijaya Lakshmi near her sewing table, with widows Sarojinamma and Lakshmamma behind her, all from Brother Wesley's town of Singarayakonda. Vijaya Lakshmi has never married, having polio since she was a baby. Already she was walking with a cane, only having one strong leg. She fell and broke her good leg earlier this year. RHM is helping her some, and other believers have helped her a lot with her various needs.
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