Women Endure Great Losses But Gain Jesus in the Process
Grief and loss are part of our lives as YWAMers working in the frontiers. Touching the lives of those who live in barren wilderness areas where the gospel is not yet known, means encountering pain, death,
We also have the great privilege of sharing Christ with those who have never heard before. As they meet Jesus, He brings a comfort and peace to them no one else can give.
This is a story by one of our YWAM Frontier Missions staff who worked for years in Central Asia. She tells of three old ladies who were grieving mothers; some of the first in their respective people groups to come to know Jesus. They were also some of the first to go to be with Him in Heaven.
These women lost their babies and suffered great hardship. They found peace in Christ who one day would reunite them with their little ones in Heaven.
A Woman From Siberia
“I met the first lady on my DTS outreach in Siberia (yes – in the winter!) She was an ethnic Tartar. She had moved from Tartarstan in Russia to Eastern Siberia as a young woman in search of a job.
The Tartars are a Muslim people group. Life was very hard there. In the winter, they ate only potatoes, rice and occasionally an onion. They owned a skinny cow that she milked by hand every morning. The poor thing didn’t give much milk but it was extra nutrition for them. They had no running water; a relative collected water from a pump more than a kilometer away. And at minus 40 degrees Celsius, a trip to the out-house was something you did as infrequently as possible!
Guzal told me she had twelve children. Six had died in infancy, and a seventh had drowned in the river when he was 8. She was in her seventies when I met her. Though many years had passed, there were tears in her eyes as she told me of the loss of her babies. She had come to Christ during the Soviet years and was one of the first of her people group to come to the Lord.
My Neighbor and Her Mother-In-Law
The other two ladies were from a Central Asian country where I worked for many years.
*Muhabbat was the mother-in-law of my neighbor.
One day my neighbour came to ask if I had any medicine that would help her mother-in-law. She was staying at her house for a few days. Explaining that she was dying of cancer, she told me of her terrible pain.
I went to her house to meet the woman. There was very little I could do, but I offered to pray for her. As I prayed, I suddenly realized that this would the only opportunity she would have to hear the Gospel!
I started telling her about Jesus. She was very interested. At this point I got the lady who was helping me in my home to assist me. She was a student and a believer. The old lady’s speech was slurred and I was having trouble understanding her.
*Dildora came and told her the whole story of the Bible starting with Genesis. I thought to myself ‘this could take ages’, but I then realized they only had Genesis, Psalms and the New Testament in their language! Many languages in Central Asia only have Bible portions translated.
After hearing the gospel presented, she gave her life to the Lord. Later that day I read to her from Revelation 21:1-5 about the new Heaven and the new Earth. God would wipe every tear from our eyes. There would be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain.
She passed away about 3 days after I read that to her. My neighbor who had originally asked me for the medicine, told me more of her mother-in-law’s story. She had had 12 children. Six had died in infancy. This woman had suffered great loss and terrible grief.
After hearing the passage from Revelation, she was peaceful. ‘She didn’t seem to be afraid of dying anymore’ my neighbor told me. Her transformed heart was a strong witness. Not long after her mother-in-law passed away, my neighbor gave her life to the Lord. This grieving old lady was likely the very first person from her people group to die in the faith. Through the peace she’d found, others had also believed.
Family Ties
The third story is very similar. This woman was from a village just outside our city. The gospel often spreads through family relationships. This was true in her case. Her daughter-in-law became aquainted with one of my teammates. She gave her life to the Lord. She then led her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law to the Lord too. The mother-in-law always seemed very traumatized to me. I didn’t know why. After her death, her daughter told me she’d had 14 children and 8 had died in infancy.
I am struck by the amazing mercy of the Lord. He sees the suffering of these ladies and many others like them who live in Central Asia. Grief and pain were constantly present in their lives. But in Christ, they found peace and comfort. They are now in heaven with the babies they never knew. They are with their Lord too, in a place where there is no death, sorrow, crying or pain.”
Many grieving women in Central Asia have yet to hear of the God who can comfort them. Millions of Central Asian women remain trapped in lives filled with grief caused by the loss of children. Compared to the UK where only 3.8 out of 1000 babies die, in Central Asia, it is more like 40 out of a thousand.
As these three women found hope, healing, and peace, hundreds of others have never heard that there is a God who can heal their broken hearts. Who will go and share of God’s great compassion and love?
If you have an interest to work in Central Asia, sign up for a session with a YWAM Bridges Coach today!
*Names have been changed.
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