By Torie Speicher*
Women from villages outside the city arrived at the training in a truck with a cage to protect the women from chaos due to the state-wide strike.
SOUTH ASIA — In the midst of a large South Indian city, Loretta Woodruff* and Cora Seltzer* woke up in their guesthouse to a clean and quiet oasis surrounded by green trees. On the compound, safely protected by friends, as well as large gates and guards, they were completely unaware of what was going on outside.
Buses and tires burned on the street outside the compound. The city was in full-chaotic “strike” mode, called in protest of government actions. Everyone was expected to comply, affecting everything from transportation to food.
Many did not leave the safety of their homes, but 46 women were determined to attend a discipleship training.
International Mission Board trustees Woodruff and Seltzer waited prayerfully, along with international workers, to see how the strike would affect the training offered during a recent trustee vision trip to South Asia. As they prayed, a truck with a giant cage for a bed drove up to the compound. The cage door swung open and women piled out. In fear of burning buses and tires along the streets, they used the cage as their protection from the chaos to get to the training site.
“I came to hear the Word of God,” Babita* said about braving the ongoing strike to attend the training.
The sacrifice the women made to attend this training was not lost on Woodruff. The seven trustees on the South Asia committee visited South Asia to experience this type of hunger for God’s Word first-hand.
Women in South Asia cover their heads to pray and worship Jesus. A woman clasps her hands together, as she worships God through song.
“These women today made great sacrifices to be together and to learn about Jesus,” Woodruff, a member of New Hope Church, Manhattan, Kan., who has been participating in international missions for 39 years, said. “I hope we as American women will be challenged to make greater efforts to grow in our walk with the Lord and to share with others.”
National believers in South Asia hear that people from faraway places are praying for them and that they are all part of God’s family, but to actually see Woodruff and Seltzer and hear from them was an encouragement, said Simon Cassmore,* an international worker in India.
Trustees spread out across South Asia to participate in everything from church planting training to worshipping in a house church. They prayer walked and connected with field personnel. Seltzer, First Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC, facilitated a lesson on discipleship with a group of women in Sri Lanka.
“The Sri Lankan women left the training able to explain what it means to be a new creation in Christ, tell the story of the Lord’s prayer and develop a two-minute personal testimony,” Seltzer said. “Since returning to the USA, I have already used the introductory lesson once. I plan to use it with an outreach ministry our church has. So, this was great training for me as well as the national ladies.”
Putting a face with the newsletters that she faithfully reads was one of the greatest things about this trustee vision trip for Woodruff and she plans to take each face home with her.
“Knowing people on the field and the kind of support they need from home, I hope that God can really use me for a voice as an advocate for the people that are out there,” Woodruff said.
Getting to interact personally with trustees gave workers support they need to live in difficult places.
“I have always felt supported by the trustees and especially the people who serve on the South Asia committee. They pray for us; they listen to us; they support us in ways that most people on the field are not even aware of,” said Cassmore. “I am encouraged to know that our company has godly men and women serving as trustees who have a heart for the lostness that is in the world — especially for South Asian peoples.”
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*Name changed
Torie Speicher is a writer serving among South Asian peoples as a volunteer with International Mission Board.