8 years ago I arrived in Canada from India with my 3 little girls
God has blessed me with these beautiful daughters, all of whom love the Lord
and have served him their entire lives.
They have been a source of strength and encouragement. I can't imagine life without them by my side.
Yet there are places in the world where young women like my daughters aren't safe,
where they never experience the warmth of caring parents,
and where they never know of God's eternal, saving love.
Enslavement. Trafficking. Bondage.
For most of us, these evil practices seem like wretched memories from a less-enlightened time.
Yet the reality is that today, heartless criminals are exploiting the vulnerable in ways that are nearly beyond description
Few are more defenseless than young girls.
Many sold by their own parents who tragically consider their daughters a liability and a curse
Contrast this attitude toward a young life in the tender words of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew:
"whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
These and numerous other scriptures vividly declare God's love for His creation
and in turn reveal how we are to treat those around us.
Such passages are the only hope for the unjustly exploited
as they bring light into the hearts and minds of those who can change
and to transform long-held attitude and beliefs that darken their culture
Last year I went back to India to visit my elderly father in Bangalore
One day I visited with my friend who ministers in that area
This section of Mumbai has the notorious distinction
of being the world's largest red light district.
Thousands of young girls are lured by pimps
assuring them good jobs but instead they are sold to brothel owners
who brutally forced them into prostitution.
Together, we carried a supply of Bibles and gave them freely to the sad young women we saw in the dark alleys.
The simple act of giving away a Bible
so easy to do and so utterly transforming.
I want to tell you the story of one of the girls I meant.
Her name is Lakshmi and she was a school dropout
Her parents forced her to work so she could support them
and because they didn't want to pay her marriage dowry.
A local church worker, someone like my friend, gave her a Bible.
Soon, Lakshmi became a Christian and her love for God's Word grew each day.
So what can you do to help these desperate girls and young women discover God's boundless love for them?
Like Lakshmi, they will only learn of the salvation Jesus freely offers
by reading of his unconditional love and care for them.
And this will only happen for the many school dropout girls if they are able to complete their education and learn to read.
By equipping them with literacy skills and vocational training,
they will be able to better meet the challenges they are certain to face
and to escape the vicious cycle of grinding poverty and prostitution.
After all, God's Word empowers and transforms people from all walks of life and social strata
Lakshmi's story represents the essence of what it means
for believers to care for the least of these.
With your generous support, we can celebrate more stories of victory this year.
Please consider making a gift today
so girls like Lakshmi can receive a Bible
and hear about God's love, a love that frees them from the enslavement
suffered by so many children.
It is also our fervent prayer that the Least of These program
will have a ripple effect as the young women we minister to
will eventually bring the Bible's message of hope to others.
Only then will the vast need be met
as countless lives are rebuilt on the everlasting foundation of God's Word
We have already witnessed this type of success in the life of Lakshmi.
Today she is ministering to other HIV-positive women through a church she started.
The faces I saw remain with me.
I thank God that my own three daughters
are safe and cherished and are filled with the love of God.
What a joy it would be to share the peace they feel each day,
a peace that passes all understanding, with the captive young women of Kimarthipura.
Please consider joining us today. A sea of precious lives is watching and waiting.