From Dave Hedden...

Last year, Matt Hartsell (with Forgotten Children Worldwide) and I crossed the country of India in the back of a small tuk-tuk. I remember seeing so many incredible things, but I also saw a lot of challenges. I saw hurt that came in many forms: poverty, hopelessness, and spiritual darkness.

I saw a small child desperately digging through a trash pile, most likely for their next meal. I saw a woman, begging on the side of the road, hands and feet eaten away with leprosy–yes leprosy, the disease in the Bible that made people social outcasts. I saw a man in a temple, so desperate for mercy from “the gods” that he knelt on his knees and lapped up water, milk, and who knows what else off the floor with his tongue like he was a dog.

I saw a place RIPE for the harvest. Hurting souls in desperate need of the kind of love only our Heavenly Father can give. I also saw the hope, the hope only Jesus can provide. Like girls, who once lived in a slum right next to a set of train tracks, but now lived a life of freedom. I saw girls, destined to a life of temple prostitution where the only value ascribed to them was the number of rupees a man was willing to depart from to use and abuse her as he saw fit, freed to a life in Christ where they can rest assured they are valued because they were made in our Creator’s image. We are making our return to India and I am excited to see what the Lord has in store and to share the journey with all of you!

Crossroads has partnered with Forgotten Children Worldwide in this fight against trafficking and extreme poverty, and we hope that you do too! Check out www.forgottenchildren.org to see how you can change the life of a vulnerable child today!

Learn more about International Missions at Crossroads here.