Extreme poverty. Profound insecurity. Sexual violence. Limited access to food, healthcare, and education. All stemming from a deeply ingrained belief in cultures around the globe that women have no value, and all serious human rights violations that women experience excessively in the 10/40 Window. While church leaders, academics, and politicians condemn these abusive and neglectful practices, they are still common and even on the rise in the 21st century. How this becomes a crime against society is also noteworthy, because when women are kept from fulfilling their God-given roles, everyone suffers.
Yet God’s intended design looks radically different. God’s Word often uses the imagery of nature to describe the fullness of His loving plan for mankind. The following verse provides a visual of Life-giving trees bringing food and healing: “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12
Just as Ezekiel described these trees, God intends each woman to be a source of Life and Health for her family and community! Women in the Window International responds to God’s invitation to replace poverty and injustice with dignity and purpose in Christ so that women in “the window” can become powerful Life-giving agents of change. One such woman is Shanti from India. In her own words, read how the training she received saved two lives!
My name is Shanti and I had the joy of attending a WiW women’s health training in India! My neighbor delivered her baby at home. Because of the lessons on pregnancy and delivery, I was able to help with immediate care and get her to the doctor. Both mother and baby survived. This new mother now trusts me to speak about the Bible, which has deepened our relationship and drawn her closer to God.
Praise God with us that the trainings we offer give both literal and spiritual life to women and children! And please remember our West Africa team in prayer as they depart on Sunday, May 3rd to lead a micro-enterprise and biblical training for women leaders from Benin, Ghana, and Togo.
Yours because I’m His,
Kim
P.S. In honor of Mother’s Day, Women in the Window is supporting a women’s outreach in the Holy Land! Our ministry partner, Jerusalem Evangelistic Outreach, has printed more than 5,000 devotionals that feature biblical stories of women which address issues that Arab women face. To make a contribution to this outreach, please visit our giving page and choose “Mother’s Day Offering” as your gift designation.