The sewing center where Sweeta is formed.
Shweta has won the victory over extreme persecution. The training offered by one of our partners in India helped change his life.
Shweta was born in India into a Christian family. But she married a man from a fundamentalist Hindu family who persecuted her. He recalls, “I was humiliated every day and often physically abused by my in-laws because of my faith.”
Traumatic “disappointment”
Shweta tries to endure the situation out of love for her husband. But one day he fell ill, and his mother-in-law claimed that his illness was the result of his Christian faith. Before he could even give his opinion, a magician came and the ceremony of disappointment began. Shweta has to sit under pressure in the middle of the room. And at the end of the ceremony, his mother-in-law and other women in the family began to slap and beat him to “cast out the unclean spirits” believed to inhabit him.
Shweta narrates:
“I had a fever and these women were kicking and punching me. They even used shoes to beat me.”
He passed out and woke a few hours later in the hospital. He had been rescued to the extreme by his mother: “When he came to save me I was unconscious and bleeding profusely,” explains Shweta, who has a scar on his forehead that is still clearly visible.
Life-changing training
It took Shweta months to recover physically and especially mentally:
“I read the Bible more and prayed more often, and soon God set me free and strengthened me.”
But it was also the training offered by one of our partners that allowed him to change his life. Shweta is one of the Christian women in her area receiving sewing training. The classes that Shweta has taken have been truly a blessing to her: “I am very happy to have had the opportunity to have sewing experience at this centre. I almost finished my training and now I know how to sew clothes. I even started taking orders! It helps me earn more and support my family!”
Shweta’s sewing skills helped her become financially independent. He testified proudly: “Thanks to my income, I was able to put my children in better schools. They are doing very well in their studies, and I am sure they will have a great future!”
Continuous magic
The magic doesn’t end there. Shweta’s husband finally returns for her, promising to protect her. He said: “In India, once you get married, society considers you as your in-laws. So I was under a certain social pressure to go back there.”
Shweta’s husband had prepared a small cottage near his parents’ house for him and his wife. Despite his fears, he agrees to join her: “That’s hard, because these guys almost killed me!” He added:
“But in the end I forgave them. I can show them my love on several occasions through small gestures.
Shweta’s in-laws were touched by their daughter-in-law’s testimony. Today, they speak kindly to him and call him frequently at home. They realized they had treated him badly in the past and they even asked him to pray for them when they were sick!
At the same time as Shweta, about ten Christian women regularly came to the training center and became more independent. These are all lives changed thanks to your prayers and donations. Through the Impact India campaign, our partners have brought hope to a humanly desperate situation: by 2021, your support will reach over 730,000 people.
