City of Brokenness

Gateway to India

Mumbai. I don’t know what comes to mind when you read that city’s name. Maybe you think of the famous Bombay, or the infamous Las Vegas of India. Maybe it brings to mind the imperialism of British rule. Or maybe it sparks a memory of an article you read recently about poverty, slavery and human trafficking. Perhaps, like many, you may have a vague memory of the name, but really have no idea where it’s located, or what it’s like.

For me, I really did not know what to expect. Mumbai is one of the largest (if the not the largest) cities in India. Of the cities, it is one of the most developed, having been a British port prior to India’s independence, and is constantly expanding. As I have observed over the past week or so, construction of new buildings is going on everywhere. People come from all over India, and even the world, to work here. Some of the most visited tourist sites in India are located here.

Last night, I had the opportunity to visit some of the said sites. From the impressive Gateway to India, to the beautiful old buildings in downtown Mumbai, even centuries-old churches, and the local market to the majestic Sea Link Bridge, I stood in awe of it all. And most people do.

Downtown Mumbai as viewed from the Gateway

Beyond the beauty of Mumbai is a deep sense of tragedy. India as a whole had almost 20,000 reported cases of women and children being trafficked in 2016, and the state in which Mumbai is located ranks second for the number of trafficked women residing there (according to an article published by the Times of India in March of this year). Most, and probably all, of the slum areas in the city contain at least one brothel where these women (and children!) are forced to work every night. Are there laws against such things? Yes, there are. But, as I have learned over the past week, and even over the past four years since I first came to India, there are a lot of factors involved – corruption being one of the biggest.

Evening singing in a slum church

Corruption is a massive problem when the biggest brothels in the city are given warning when the police are preparing to raid, allowing the pimps and workers to hide away any under-aged girls who have been trafficked there, putting them out of the sight of any officers who would be obligated to free them. Injustice is at its worst when human beings are bought and sold for mere pieces of money, abused to the point where their spirits are broken completely, and given no hope of ever being freed – even by those who have vowed to uphold the law and protect the people of their city.

And yet, this is the reality for thousands of women and children in Mumbai. Beautiful Indian and Nepalese people, Image-Bearers of God. And yet, without hope or rest.

The hardest part of it all is that I cannot do anything about it. I can raise awareness, I can advocate for the vulnerable, I can listen to the stories of broken women and children, and many other things. But in my own strength and power, I cannot free them. I cannot free them from the pimps who own them. And I certainly cannot free them from the emotional and psychological chains that weigh them down.

Women's group

But, I know Who can. As I wrote in my journal earlier this afternoon, “Only God has the power to change the hearts of the Indian people. Only God has the ability to set them free from the chains of sin, brokenness, and darkness. Only Jesus can rescue the slaves. Only Jesus can heal this broken land so full of pain and darkness.” It’s true. Only Jesus can. And our responsibility is to take this tragic reality of sin, shame, and brokenness which so deeply permeates Mumbai, and the whole of India, and lay it at the feet of the One who can change everything, and heal the pain of His beloved children.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins

and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

that have been devastated for generations.”

~ Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV)

India2017 Story: Part 3


Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™