Punam... a girl beyond her years!

October 19, 2009
Punam is like a mother to all the other children. She’s 15 years old but she seems far beyond her years. She’s an amazing cook, a diligent student, and a faithful leader of the kids. She doesn’t always live here as she’s trying to complete her schooling (she’s in her final year of school) and she needed more time to study, but she stays here over holiday’s and breaks.

Punam has several brothers and sisters, and her mom lives nearby. However, when she was small, she felt a distance growing between her and her parents who she felt did not love her like they loved their other children. Looking back, she believes this was God’s work, as when she was young she voluntarily moved into Pastor Krishna’s hostel, even though her family is Hindu.

While living in Krishna’s home, she began to hear of the love of God and to partake in the love of a family and parents. Pastor Krishna and his wife showed her the love of parents for the first time, and she began to feel like she was wanted. Over time, Jesus grew the seed of faith in Punam’s heart, growing her into a daughter of faith! While the angels were rejoicing over her decision, on earth there is much anger and hatred over her decision. When she told her mother of her decision and tried to speak with her about the works of Jesus, her mother told her that she would be better off if Punam had not been born, or was dead. The wounds of her mother’s wounds have left scars that cut deep into her heart, but Punam continues to pray that one day her mother will change.

While talking with me, Punam described a dream she had a few months ago, explaining that she rarely dreams much less remembers her dreams. She told me that she was standing by a large lake, and there was a man dressed in white, calling her to come to Him. She explained to Him that she could not swim and could not make it. So, He came and took her hand and told her that He is with her and would walk with her on the water. Amazed, I asked her if she’d ever heard the story of Peter walking on the water. Confused, she said that she hadn’t. So, we pulled out our Bibles and read from Matthew about Peter walking on the water to Jesus. As I read aloud, her eyes grew larger and larger, wonder and amazement etched into her face. When I finished, she said, “Sister, I’ve never read this before! This was like my dream!” We talked about how in Jesus all things are possible, and that He walks with us through the storms and on the water!

This led us into another discussion, as she began to describe to me some of the teachers at school. I don’t know them well, and I imagine they’re different around me than they are around the students. But, before I arrived to teach in the school, Punam explained that many of the teachers were very vocal in their hatred of Christians. Their English teacher went so far as to state that all Christians should be grouped together and killed. Needless to say, Punam was angry beyond belief, and had to keep herself from jumping up and shouting at her teacher. We went back to Matthew 5, where Jesus talks about how Punam’s reward is great because her teacher is persecuting her because of Jesus. She took comfort in that, and looked at me and said, “He’s not like that so much anymore though.” I asked her what had caused the change, and she said that when I came to work in the school, all the teachers stopped saying things about Christians, and even began to treat her with some dignity. Extremely surprised, I told her that I’d never talked with any of them about Jesus. She laughed and said “But you wear a cross and live with us. That makes you a Christian here.” Then she told me that this English teacher had also asked for a Bible (Laxuman had asked me for one to give to a teacher, but I had no idea the background of this teacher) and was reading it. God moves in incredible ways, and as Mark 4 says, God will grow His kingdom whether we sleep or wake, and it’s in His hands! I never thought that God bringing me here would bring rest from persecution for the kids, but I am so thankful that He has! Pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of these teachers, as they look to the kids for answers about Jesus and Christianity!