She Held On to Jesus While Being Beaten

SOUTH ASIA – Chameli Jhadev’s brother was beating her up. Despite her desperate pleas for him to stop, he only kept kicking and punching her.

Worse still, Chameli’s parents and relatives silently watched as the brutal abuse was heaped on her; no one came forward to help her.

The teenage girl had made a risky decision for Christ—and now she was paying the price.

Chameli had been drawn to the Savior as she watched a movie about Jesus screened in her village by Danvir Khan, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary. She trusted in Christ and committed her life to Him.

Putting her faith in Jesus was not a choice this teenage girl took lightly. Her parents and relatives adhered strongly to the worship of the gods and goddesses of their traditional family religion. She knew they would oppose her if they found out about her decision. But that didn’t stop her.

Though my parents, brother and relatives torture me,’ she said, ‘I will keep holding on to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . .’

Hungry to grow in her new faith, Chameli began secretly attending the worship services and prayer meetings at a local church led by Danvir. She also started taking part in a GFA Women’s Fellowship in a neighboring village where GFA-supported missionary Priya Mistry was serving the Lord.

Then something happened that put Chameli’s faith to the test: Someone from Chameli’s village discovered she had become a Christian and told her parents and brother.

And it was while Chameli was getting ready to go to a Women’s Fellowship prayer meeting that her brother unexpectedly began to beat her. He kicked and punched her repeatedly—in spite of her desperate pleas—while her parents simply watched.

However, Chameli was not dissuaded from her devotion to Jesus. In the midst of suffering opposition from her own family, she remained faithful to Him and continued secretly attending prayer meetings and worship services.

Then one morning, Chameli was preparing to take part in a special service where she would testify to other believers about her new faith. While she was getting ready, her brother started to beat her again. He commanded her not to leave the house. And in a fit of rage, he even hurled Chameli’s precious Bible into a fire.

As soon as her brother released her from his grip, Chameli rushed to take part in the special service.

“Though my parents, brother and relatives torture me,” she said, “I will keep holding on to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for I know that my help comes from Him.”

Seeing that their daughter could not be dissuaded from her new faith, Chameli’s parents and relatives tried a new tactic: They tried to force her into a marriage with a man of their religion.

During this hard time, Priya faithfully ministered to her new sister in Christ with encouragement and prayer. Chameli also continued attending the local church led by Pastor Danvir.

Then over the next few weeks, the situation began to improve: Chameli’s parents stopped opposing her and gave up on the forced marriage.

“By the grace of God, her family’s attitude toward her changed drastically,” GFA’s local field correspondent noted.

Correspondents asked for prayer that the Lord would help Chameli stay firm in her faith and that the rest of her family would come to know Jesus, too.