Girls' Orphanage

Five Girls
My dream is being fulfilled
Lilly Vargis

One. 1982. We went to Orissa, the land of tribal people with our four kids aged 2 to 8 years. I was shocked and my kids were shell-shocked and grief stricken to see the women in loin clothes and nothing on top, men in G strings – so the children of both sex.
My son Blesson who was only four came to me one day and said in tears, "Mom, look at that boy who has come to the church. He has a short that does not have the bottom. I can see his 'shame' through the whole. Can I give my short to him?" I asked my husband P G Vargis because Blesson had only three shorts. PG and I gave the permission. Lilly told him, "You give a short that you want to give." He took the best short and gave to that boy who ran as though he has won a million dollar lottery.
My son is still a giver. (Actually all our five children are givers.)
We started boys home – one, two … five. I often asked PG as when are we going to start a home for destitute girls. He repeatedly said, 'No.' Because to have a girls' home, we must have a prison like home with high sidewalls, barbed wire, security guards, watch dogs etc.�
When the girls are small, it is OK. But once the girls are 13 and above, they could be kidnapped, raped, murdered after rape or sold in the flesh market. As they are orphans, the police will not be very eager to find the missing girls.� Finally, who will come forward to marry a girl from an orphanage? Too many questions and too many thoughts of cautions.� So always he said, No, No, No – with guilt. Because he knew that there is a need.
In India, the girls are considered as a burden epically to pay the dowry. Several families commit suicide that have girls only.� So the pregnant women go to the hospital to find whether the baby is a girl – and if it is a girl – they will abort it. Many times a woman is threatened by the husband and his family, 'If it is not a boy, don’t come home. Go elsewhere.'
So the mother may throw the baby girl and buy a boy child from a poor family. Or even switch a baby born on the same day in that hospital by bribing the hospital staff. The mother wants a male child at any cost.
Teen age girls from poor families are lured by the goons offering attractive jobs and much better living condition and brought to the cities – to be thrown into prostitution from where there is no escape. Even if they escape where will they go? They cannot return to their home or even village. Every one agrees to the fact: 'There is a need.'
I visited a few orphanages across the nation. To my amazement I found that there are hundreds of orphanages for boys but I found only two for girls. (There could be more, I don’t know.) Even those who had girls' orphanages told me about all the problems – bad characters trying to kidnap the girls, men unwilling to marry a girl from an orphanage etc. Does that mean that we should close our eyes to the real need? Should not we protect and save a few more girls?
PG knew that there is a need. But what will we do? Two acres of land for building, vegetable garden, playground, and the prison like hostel, a vehicle to take the children to school, a Christian school – it was beyond our ability. But I prayed.
Whenever I will visit one of the five boys' homes we had, I was asking a question to God, "Lord when will I see a girls home? The first sentence you uttered after you rose again is 'Woman why do you cry'? The women are still crying here. Don’t you care? Is there anything that I should do?" I many times reminded God, what I prayed in the early days of my ministry, " Lord, you must not look elsewhere for a willing person to do a job, because I am not willing to do the job you want me to do."
Then I thought that it is not His will for me to see girls' home. So I talked to my two daughters and first daughter-in-law who is a medical doctor to think about starting a girls' home if ever it will flash it in their mind. I knew that God can bring it to pass through them because a prayer could be answered through the children or grandchildren.

Two � � 2006. I was surprised when Joy Thomas, the new president of Indian Evangelical Team, told me that we should go ahead with our unborn dream of a girls' home.� � The leaders of IET talked, discussed and every time they ignored the cloud of obstacles, fear, problems and cautions.
In March 2007, they put it before the 120 leaders who gathered in SALTDC (Bible college) at Pipariya and every one agreed to this proposal and it was unanimously agreed to start one from June 2007 at Pipariya. Shaji Varughese, an IET leader agreed to give free education to the girls in his English medium school. God spoke to a government schoolteacher. She responded to His call and agreed to resign her well-paid job with life long pension and take over the responsibility of this new project.
The leaders looked at the various applications we have and selected five girls. So in the month of June 2007, this girls' home will be opened and dedicated in Pipariya.
My prayers that I prayed and later put in the shelf is revived by God. It is like the angel of the Lord coming to Zechariah saying, "your prayer is answered." (Lk 1:13) When was it that he prayed for a son? Not in the past 30 or 40 years. He should have prayed fervently for the first 5 years quoting Bible promises in his personal prayer and family prayer. Then? May be occasionally for another 10 years when he stood in the most holy place to execute the priest's office. Then – it is possible that be he never prayed. He should have accepted that it could be the will of God that they have no child. He might have altogether forgotten the prayers that he prayed as he passed his age and his wife ‘well stricken in years.’
But the angel appeared to him one day and declared, "Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife shall bear thee a son"’ What prayer? "The prayer that you prayed many, many years back and forgotten altogether." My prayer, in the same way, is heard and IET, my mission, conceived the baby - 'a girl’s home.' Halleluiah!!!�

Three � So from the month of June 2007 we will have a girls' home in Pipariya (near to Bhopal, central India.) One schoolteacher resigned her job and joined us the matron. We have selected five girls.
IET leaders decided to have this girl’s home in the Bible college campus so there will be more protection.� The staff and their families can be a great moral help to the institution. From the land we have for the Bible College, 2 acres is carved out for this project.
Will you pray that IET will have the money to construct the buildings? Dormitory for 75 girls, dining hall, cookhouse, toilet/bathroom, Chapel etc.
Will you also pray for sponsors for these 5 girls this year and another 5 girls next year? It may cost Rs 1000 (US$25) for a girl including the pay of staff.
May God bless you as you read this and pray for this girl’s home.