The
Shaw Family - Calcutta, India
For
the past 7 1/2 years, Stewart and Monique Shaw,
along with their three children have been ministering
to the poor & needy in Calcutta, India. Stewart
& Monique came to India in November, 1999
with 5 years experience ministering to the poor,
destitute & addicts in London, Ontario.
With over 18 million people in the city of Calcutta,
millions have still not heard the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.They may have heard of Jesus or seen his
picture but they do not really know about His
life and what He has done for them. Stewart and
Monique's heart cry is that the street children,
the sex workers and the addict children that they
minister to will find hope, healing and restoration
through Jesus.
Brief History of Howrah Ministry
In 2002, Stewart started visiting & ministering
to the drug addict kids at the Howrah Train Station.
His heart litterally broke when he witnessed kids
as young as seven years old (girls & boys)
sniffing glue and getting high to numb their emotions
and take away their hunger pains. Most of these
children have run away from abusive situations
in their home & community. Several of them
have even been abused by the local police in the
area or by harmful passengers. The Calcutta Telegraph
has previously reported that there are up to three
hundred children making the Howrah Station their
home.
At present the "Howrah" team visits
the Howrah Train Station three days a week. They
have been ministering in this area for the past
four years and have therefore built a good rapport
with the children as well as the Howrah train
Authorities. Most of the children that they visit
are very dirty and have open cuts that are infected.
The team distributes shampoo, soap & lice
remover and takes care of the minor cuts and injuries.
At times, the injuries are more serious and the
children are taken to the hospital for proper
care. The needs of these children are very great
and the team does whatever they can to show them
love and care.
Once a week, ten to twenty of the Howrah kids
are taken by taxi to the "Coffeehouse"
Center in Kalighat. These children are ministered
to through Bible stories, songs and prayer. They
have the opportunity to draw, paint and do other
theraputic activities in a safe and loving environment.
A warm and hearty lunch is provided for the children
before they leave. It is difficult for Stewart
and the team to choose which children will come
to the coffeehouse each week and which ones will
have to wait for for another turn. Their space
at the center in Kalighat is very small and the
number of children desiring to come is increasing.
Their next step is to buy or build a residential
centre for these children.
Ministry
to ladies in the Kalighat red-light area:
Around
the same time that Stewart and Monique began the
Howrah Ministry, they also felt led to start a
ministry for the sex-workers in Kalighat. They
prayed and walked in this area for several months
and met a devout Hindu man who was willing to
rent out his small store-front property to them.
The center is located very close to the Kali Temple
as well as Mother Theresa's Home for the sick
and dying. It is a real "lighthouse"
in the midst of spiritual darkness.
The
"At The Well" Center is known by the
ladies in the red-light district as the "Coffeehouse."
It is a drop-in center where the ladies come in
and spend time with the ministry team. They often
pray and have worship times with the ladies who
are open. It is also our "Prayer house"
where the team regularly intercedes for the Kalighat
area and for the ladies working in the red-light
district. Another imporanat part of their ministry
is visiting the women in the brothels. Many of
the women are open to the ministry team coming
to their room for tea and prayer.. The two different
groups of women that they minister to are the
Bengali women and the Nepali women. Many of these
ladies have been forced into prostitution at a
very young age or have succumbed to this profession
due to severe poverty. Their stories are tragic
& heart breaking. It is the desire of Stewart
and Monique to see these precious ladies set free
spiritually, physically and emotionally.
Kids
Club
There
are many homeless families that live just outside
the door of the "At The Well" Center.
An afternoon program runs four days weekly for
the children who live one the streets. There are
approximately 14 children who attend varying in
age from 10-16 years old. They hear Bible Stories,
sing, pray, learn basic English and draw and paint.
The Center is like a home for them, a place where
they find shelter from the heat, the rain and
where they find unconditional love. Through this
program, they are growing in Christ and learning
that God has a special plan and purpose for their
life. These children also attend the Saturday
Church service every week.
Saturday
Service in Kalighat
For
the past 3 years, God has opened the way for a
Saturday Church Service in the Red Light area.
It is an informal church service for these ladies
and their children. The Greek Orthodox Church,
located very close to the At The Well Center,
has kindly permitted Stewart and Monique to use
their outdoor premises for the services. In a
beautiful garden, Christ's message of love and
forgiveness is shared in the lives of these precious
people. In the beginning, there were just a handful
of people attending, and now they are averaging
around 50 people (women & children and even
a few men).
Through God's grace and power, Stewart and Monique,
with their children continue to serve in the city
of Calcutta to the broken hearted. Their three
chidlren: Benjamin (15), Timothy (13), and Hope
(10) also share their parents' heart and help
in the work that God has placed in their hands.
Please continue to pray for this family as they
reach out to the lost in the Great Nation of India!
Stewart & Monique Shaw
Pentecostal
Assemblies of Canada
Stewart's cell phone 001-91-9830729185 (10.5 hours
ahead of Toronto)
Monique's 001-91-9830794855
Prayer
Focus:
Ladies
in red-light area to have openness to gospel
Teens
to grow in confidence and relationship with Christ
Wisdom
to purchase property for Howrah Kids/Vocational
Unit
Our
family’s health, strength and protection
|
April 2008
