Meghan Tschanz is a World Racer who is going out with Kingdom Journeys to start women’s ministries next January. She wrote the following post.
Poverty has infected India like a vicious flu, spreading to every part of its body.
It’s outside my window, it’s on my walk to the train, it’s in the streets – it’s in the people. It’s everywhere.
Desperate women scrape by on a portion of the $2 they get for selling their bodies. Dhwani has scars on her wrists from where she has cut herself, desperate for escape. Padma cries in pain as her body dies of HIV and tuberculosis. Jobada has marks on her face, necks and hands from where her husband who forced her into prostitution has beaten her. Men with lifeless eyes follow desperate women in effort to find some sort of fulfillment.
These situations play out before me everyday and I feel so helpless. All I can do is pray for them and hold their hands as they cry, hoping that their children’s lives will be different.
It’s overwhelming.
The devil has gotten his hands in here deep and no one seems to have escaped. Men, women and children have been robbed of their dignity. Even the rich have been robbed of their compassion.
Poverty, disease and anger are everywhere. It all just seems so hopeless.
But as I recall the best stories are always the stories about a small good overcoming a vast evil. It’s the stories like David and Goliath, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Jesus and death. They are the stories where all hope seems lost and then at the perfect time, goodness, peace and love are restored. They are stories of redemption because that is what God is all about.
And while poverty prowls the streets here, so does something even stronger: love.
God is in the brothels, in the alleyways where humans are sold. God is in the cries of the children who wander the streets. God is in the heart of the broken woman who has been infected with a disease that will end her life.
“Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me.” psalm 139: 7-10
Yes, God is even here.
He’s in us and He is in the people here – people who wake up every morning, thank God for a beautiful day and then head into the darkest corners of this Earth so that they may love on the widows, the broken and the orphan.
He’s in our smiles, our hugs and our prayers.
And He was in my hands today as I washed a 6-year-old girl.
Her name is Kama, she and her older sister are sweet girls that come everyday to sit in front of me when I eat. I sneak my extra food on their plate when no one is looking, they gobble it up and then go for seconds.
Today as I was holding Kama I noticed that she had a huge scrape on her forehead, it was covered in dirt, so I began to wash her. I got a rag and scrubbed her whole body as she shook with laughter, apparently I was tickling her. As I washed I wondered if this is the first time she has ever been given a bath until I was brought back to reality by her sharp cry.
What I thought had been another grievous patch of dirt on her ankle was a severely infected cut, forgotten under the weeks and maybe even months of dirt. I gently washed the cut trying to get it clean enough for it to heal, as I did it she looked at
me like I was some kind of angel. As I poured water on the cut, I was washing away the dirt, and also the neglect.
Before I knew what was happening I was crying. God overcame me with His love for this little girl. And while her family may have forgotten her, God never did, not once. He loved her so much that he sent me, this broken human being, to give her love.
It’s changing me, this place, slowly chipping away at who I thought I was. I am coming to realize that I have more love in my heart than I ever thought possible.
The last time I checked, love is the only thing that has overcome death. And I am out to prove it.
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Mumbai, India
It’s been eight months since I held Kama in the back room of a Mumbai brothel – but I have not forgotten about her.
The girls I met in India still motivate me to change the world; to try my hardest to make it so little girls like them don’t have to grow up the way they are.
It’s that very righteous indignation, my dissatisfaction with the status quo that has led me to help start the new ministry: Kingdom Journeys Women.
KJ Women a new ministry where a group of young women, who share my heart for broken women will traverse the globe to set the captives free.
We will serve as a voice for the voiceless and come alongside organizations around the world who are empowering women. We will implant the priceless gift of hope; all while gleaning wisdom from the most radical spirit-led women leaders, as our Mentors & Coaches.
In Spring of 2014, we will travel back to India where I hope to see the young girl who continues to inspire me to fight for women around the world through healing ministry and identity teachings. Our route will also take us to the Philippines and Swaziland – where we will set out to speak truth and start a movement where the world knows the intrinsic worth of a woman.
We have space for two more team members. If you’re interested in learning more, click here.
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