by: Emily Hilburn (originally published in 2013)
Hyderabad is a large city in India made up of 6.8 million people. You can imagine how easy it would be to get lost in the crowd. But in the midst of blaring horns and yelling drivers, a young girl’s story leaps from the chaos and demands to be heard.
Pranitha is a beautiful 17-year-old girl with a heart to serve. Most of the time you will find her in the kitchen, either cooking or cleaning. In many ways her actions are reminiscent of Martha from the Bible, and yet you see the peace of Mary in her eyes, and you know she sits at the feet of Jesus.
Pranitha is one of the orphans cared for by our partner church in India, Bethel Gospel Church. With tears pouring down her face, she told her story of how she became an orphan. When she was very young, her father died. She was so young that she now struggles to even remember her father’s face. Not too many years later, her mother died in a traffic accident and left Pranitha and her brother, Yevamshi, as orphans. Pranitha’s aunt agreed to take them in, but she did not love them and treated them as servants. Pranitha recounted a time their aunt beat them for sleeping on a bed because they weren’t worth the expense of that bed.
Eventually, Pranitha heard about Bethel Gospel Church, and they came to live with one of the pastors and his wife. Since that time, Pranitha has been able to attend school and is learning life skills such as cooking, pickling, candle making, and sewing. She has become a Christian and has grown deeply in her faith. She knows that God loves her and is beginning to see herself through His eyes.
The only stain on her time at Bethel is that during a school holiday visiting their aunt, something happened, and her brother ran away. It has been almost a year, and she still does not know where Yevamshi is or if he is still alive.
When asked how she would like us to pray, Pranitha asked that God would help her do well in her studies, and that He would protect her brother, wherever he is. Pray also that God continues to heal her heart from the tragedy she has experienced.
2023 Update // by Kathy Davis
“I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13 NIV
Pranitha has known the truth of this scripture, first hand. She grew up in the profound love of Bethel Gospel Church and is currently a certified nurse. She was the first one among the children raised at Bethel Gospel Church to get married. She has a lovely husband, Livingstone, and it’s such a joy to share that they have been blessed with a baby boy!
We praise God for the way he has built this family and for the way Pranitha now mothers her own child!
Pranitha’s brother, Vamshi, did return home and stayed with her and her grandmother until she got married. He has since moved, is working, and is supporting himself. The family stays in touch regularly, and we continue to be humbled by how God has moved them from deep loss and hardship to great beauty and healing.
“You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
Isaiah 62:3 NIV
This article was originally published in the World Orphans Fall Insight Magazine 2023.