Disclaimer: Don’t bother reading this unless you believe God can speak to you!
For over 30 years I have worked in ministry and have had the amazing opportunity of traveling around the world many times to meet wonderful, godly men and women serving the Lord. Many of these men and women come from very poor and humble backgrounds, live in diverse cultures, and have had difficult, heartbreaking lives. Yet, God has taken them and made them extraordinary, using them greatly for His kingdom. Here is the testimony of one such extraordinary person. Her name is Manju.
Manju was born into a typical Hindu family in Nepal. She is the oldest of five children and her family, being extremely poor, could not afford to send all of them to school. So at age 10 she went to work in a sweater factory to help pay for her siblings to attend school. On her way to work every morning she would visit the temple and bow down to every idol that she saw; she wanted to be good to people, religious, and holy. However, she had many questions about poverty, life, and creation. One day a co-worker gave her a booklet to read about Jesus and heaven. She was really excited and wanted to learn more, so she began attending a local church. This greatly angered her devout Hindu family and her village. Her family begged her to stop attending church and the villagers threatened her and her family. But, Manju was deeply in love with Jesus. She told her family, “I can leave you all but I can’t leave Jesus Christ.” In 1993 she invited Jesus into her heart and was baptized.
Manju left her home and village and began pouring herself into her church, volunteering through evangelism and studying Scripture. In 1997, through her work at the church, she began volunteering at an elderly widows home supported by Feed the Hunger. After church, she would walk one hour down the dirt road to the widows home and visit until it got dark, then walk the hour back home.
One night as she was heading out of the gate of the elderly home, God spoke to her and told her to spend the night with the elderly women. She went back into the house and shared this with Sannani, who was the director of the home, and with the elderly widows. Around midnight, as she lay on the floor sleeping, she had a vision. God showed her four very tall men clothed in white taking Sannani towards heaven. Manju immediately woke up and went into Sannani’s bedroom and asked her how she was feeling. Tears began flowing peacefully down Sannani’s face and after several moments she “slept in the Lord” (Manju’s words).
Manju realized why God wanted her to stay the night with the elderly widows. She knew that God wanted her to care for and love these precious women. Manju was 19 years old when God gave her this vision, and she has never left the elderly widows.
Several years ago Manju got married and had beautiful son. Sadly, three years ago her husband was killed in a terrible accident. Now Manju is a widow herself, caring for elderly widows and a young boy. The vision that God gave her nearly 20 years ago is still as real to her as if it happened yesterday. Her love of the Lord continues to grow within her and joy fills her heart, her life, and the lives of the elderly widows.
I hope that you were touched by reading some of Manju’s testimony. If you were, would you please consider helping Feed the Hunger support Manju, her son, and the 11 elderly widows in her care? She is an extraordinary woman called by God, caring for women who have been discarded by their society.
You can donate here (just choose “Widows Home” in the Donation Designation dropdown menu).
Be on the lookout in future blogs about Manju and the elderly widows home.
Melinda Staples | Project Manager