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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
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
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