Desert Region | Snapshots of South Asia
God is at work in remarkable ways in South Asia and I am looking forward to sharing the details our trip over the next few weeks. I was so thankful that Tina was able to come with me and take part in the wealth of ministry that occurred while we were there.
In each update, we’ll discuss the experience of a different region as well as how you can pray and support the fellow believers there.
Desert Region
When we first arrived, we traveled south where we conducted a marriage conference with the pastors and their wives in the area. The first session was based on Eph 5:22-33, focusing on the purpose of marriage to be a picture of Christ and the church. In the second session, I addressed the men on how to lead their wives by love according to Eph 5:25-29, while Tina taught the women from 1 Peter 3 on the biblical picture of submission.
The biblical view of marriage is counter-cultural to a society where men generally treat their wives like a business partner or a servant and it is culturally acceptable (and legal) to physically harm wives who do not live up to the husband’s expectations. Childbearing is highly esteemed and women who cannot bear children face embarrassment and shame from the community. Married couples rarely display public affection nor is there any emphasis on developing a strong friendship in the marriage. In parts of the country, women are often not allowed outside without their husband present.
Marriages are often arranged by parents and in the tribes, there is a priority to marry within their own tribe. If no Christian men are available to marry, then girls could be married to an unbeliever. At the marriage conference, we met a Christian woman in this very situation whose father had arranged her marriage with an unbelieving man. After they were married and had children, he kicked her out of the home because of conflict over her faith. While she was waiting to return to her husband’s home, she attended the session on 1 Peter 3, where Tina talked about what it meant to win your husband without a word, show respect and continue to trust God through prayer for his salvation. Afterwards, she told Tina that God had made it clear that He wanted her to go back and entrust herself to the Lord to win her husband over. Tina and I then prayed over her the night before she returned to her home.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the marriages in this country, especially the church leaders, that they would resist the culture and adhere to God’s standards for marriage. Until this conference, many of the husbands didn’t understand that they were to be a loving shepherd in their homes. Pray for them to continue to seek God’s word on this issue.
Pray for this woman and the many other Christian women who are in unequally yoked marriages that they would practice 1 Peter 3 and God would protect them and save their husbands.
Pray for the fathers who are arranging unequally yoked marriages that they would understand God’s design for a Christian marriage.
Pray that husbands and wives would reflect the picture of Christ and His bride and that their marriage would be a tool in witnessing to the unsaved community around them.
If You Wish to Support Us
If the Lord leads you to support this ministry, you can do in several different ways:
Credit Card: go to our GMI link. Note that GMI covers all online expenses so that 100% of your donation goes to our support.
Direct Deposit: print out the form from this link and follow its instructions. The missionary/project name is “Tim Carns”.
Check: make it payable to “GMI” and write “Tim Carns” on the memo line. Then mail it to Grace Ministries International, 13248 Roscoe Blvd., Sun Valley, CA 91352.