Hope In Action: Smita Singh

Stephen Philps is our British Columbia Development Representative. His goal to share the amazing work has taken him across the province of British Columbia as part of our Hope in Action tour. This April, Stephen spent several weeks with Smita Singh, the director of our ministry partner, Mahima Care Homes. As PI Staff we have the privilege of being able to spend extended time with incredible men and women of God and we asked Stephen to share some reflections from his time with Smita on our blog! If you are on the West Coast, Stephen would love to connect with you! Head over to our “Contact Us” page for more details.

Have you ever wanted to spend time with some of the significant figures of history? Individuals who were known to take on tasks that others thought were insurmountable, impossible. One of the privileges of my work is to host our partners, people forging new trails like saints of old when they come to Canada to share about how God is at work. Countless hours in meetings, driving through crawling traffic leads to some very interesting, personal conversations. Without fail, each and every leader challenges me by how they have allowed God to lead them headfirst into a hurricane of darkness and hold their lanterns high to be a beacon for the lost.

This past April, I traveled through British Columbia with Smita Singh, the leader of Mahima Homes. As a ministry that has existed for six years to care for underage girls rescued out of human trafficking, it is a ministry that pulls on all of our heart strings. Having visited Kolkata in 2014, I’ve felt the darkness of that city, seen the massive ocean that is human trafficking. Yet Smita is resolute, even cheerful while lifting these young lives out of the mire. She sees God at work.

We presented at six different churches through the week, awakening congregations to the horrors of human trafficking around the world. It would be easy to leave that hurricane alone, free to engulf entire continents in its chaos, yet Smita has found her place in resisting it. Nearly everywhere we went, individuals would ask her how she could shoulder the immense weight that are these girls lives. Her answer is so simple, yet one that we in the Western world often forget: God is good.

We look at the whole problem and see it as a whole. Smita, and indeed all of our partners, see one life changed. One young girl transformed by the power of the Gospel. Her question is not how can she carry on, but instead, how could she not?

It is in this interaction that I find the beauty of our partnerships. It is not about the money, or taking from churches here in Canada, but instead about the relationship. We have so much to learn, so much to be reminded of by the passion and conviction of believers all around the world. This is Hope in Action: a reminder that the hurricane will not consume us; God has won this war. Each battle is won by loving one invaluable life at a time.

Whether you are in Kolkata or Canada, we stand united against the darkness. Hope in Action.