Journey into the Heart of an Unreached Village:
A Hidden People Group Finds Life and a Home in Jesus Christ

AIMS News: Posted 7/1/2004

Editor's Note: In February, 2004, I joined the AIMS team on the latest ministry trip to India. One weekend, we traveled to Mumbai (Bombay) to meet with our partners at New Life Fellowship Church. During our time in the city, we had the opportunity to visit four villages within the worldís largest slum community, located in Mumbai.

The slums scattered throughout Mumbai seemed unreal. Rows of tiny shacks made of plywood, scrap metal, and tarp lined the horizon. Dirty water and sewage flowed through small ravines beside the sandy streets, filling the air with its raw aroma. With one drinking well for every hundred families, living conditions seemed unbearable. But for millions of men, women and children, these slum communities are called home.

Beyond the Statistics

More than 18 million people live within the 30 square kilometers known as the city of Mumbai. According to the India Times, more than 50% of these people live in slum communities. Only 45 Christian churches exist within the city limits.

As I stepped out of the van onto the narrow, dry "street" of one community, I looked into the faces of dozens of these individuals. Men walked barefoot out of their collapsible homes. Children ran naked in the streets. Beggars sat in the sand, barely covered by their tattered clothing; their eyes stared hopelessly as we walked past them. Each one could tell a story not revealed in the statistics.

Our team followed the winding streets and entered a village within the slum community where one unreached people group called home. One year ago, the Pradhi were homeless. They lived in poverty on the city streets of Mumbai, cutting grass for a living. They were known as thieves and bootleggers. Very few, if any, Christians knew about their existence.

After an AIMS conference in 2003, New Life Fellowship began reaching out to unreached people groups in their community. They learned about the Pradhi and began to touch them with the love of Jesus. Many Pradhi committed their lives to Christ. They moved into the makeshift shacks within the village, thankful to just to have a place to call home. Their children began to attend school. New Life built a water line into the village and planted the first Christian church among them. Today, that Pradhi church has grown to 25-30 new believers.

Neena's Story

A young mother beckoned us to enter her home. The one-room hut was dark, filled with the smoke of a pot cooking just inside the canvas doorway. Her daughter, "Neena," lay naked on the dirt floor in the center of the room. Her skin hung loosely on her bones. Sores covered her stomach and legs. She was obviously malnourished. Tears rolled down her face. Neena was only nine years old, but she was crippled. Her legs were bent, and she could not walk.

Neena's mother and father stood beside her, helpless to ease their daughter's pain. Her grandmother knelt in the dirt as our team began to pray for God to restore her and to comfort and strengthen her family.

After we left their home, Neena's mother ran outside to meet us. In her arms, she carried her daughter, wrapped in a thread-bare blanket. Neenaís face had changed. Her cheeks were dry. Her mother smiled, glowing with a renewed hope. Neena spoke intensely to our interpreter. "I know that one day I will walk again, because Jesus will heal me."

It's Only the Beginning

Pastor Victor agreed to lead the Pradhi congregation in the village, but he had a vision to reach the Pradhi in other areas of the city. He planted additional churches in two other slum villages and walked several kilometers between them each week. These new converts wanted to bless Pastor Victor for his service. In spite of their poverty, they raised enough money among them to purchase a motor scooter so he could travel easily among the churches.

One year ago, the Pradhi had never heard the name of Jesus Christ. They had no hope of change or homes to call their own. Today, more than 100 Pradhi have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Within their communities, they are becoming beacons of light to the millions of people who live without hope in the slums of Mumbai, India.

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