BIO
For the past 12 years, Stewart and Monique , along with their three children have been ministering to the poor & needy in Calcutta, India. Stewart & Monique came to India in November, 1999 with 5 years experience ministering to the poor, destitute & addicts in London, Ontario. They've established the ministry, At the Well, that ministers to women in prostitution and to the addict children at the Howrah Train Station.
NEWSLETTERS
Email Stewart & Monique
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Stewart's Birthday Feb. 19
Monique's Birthday Jul 30
Anniversary Oct 8
Bens Birthday Sept 28
Tim's Birthday Dec 6
Hope's Birthday Sept 9
PRAY FOR US
Ladies in red-light area to have openness to gospel
PROFILE
With over 18 million people in the city of Calcutta, millions have still not heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.They may have heard of Jesus or seen his picture but they do not really know about His life and what He has done for them. Stewart and Monique's heart cry is that the street children, the sex workers and the addict children that they minister to will find hope, healing and restoration through Jesus.
Brief History of Howrah Ministry
In 2002, Stewart started visiting & ministering to the drug addict kids at the Howrah Train Station. His heart litterally broke when he witnessed kids as young as seven years old (girls & boys) sniffing glue and getting high to numb their emotions and take away their hunger pains. Most of these children have run away from abusive situations in their home & community. Several of them have even been abused by the local police in the area or by harmful passengers. The Calcutta Telegraph has previously reported that there are up to three hundred children making the Howrah Station their home.
At present the "Howrah" team visits the Howrah Train Station three days a week. They have been ministering in this area for the past four years and have therefore built a good rapport with the children as well as the Howrah train Authorities. Most of the children that they visit are very dirty and have open cuts that are infected. The team distributes shampoo, soap & lice remover and takes care of the minor cuts and injuries. At times, the injuries are more serious and the children are taken to the hospital for proper care. The needs of these children are very great and the team does whatever they can to show them love and care.
Once a week, ten to twenty of the Howrah kids are taken by taxi to the "Coffeehouse" Center in Kalighat. These children are ministered to through Bible stories, songs and prayer. They have the opportunity to draw, paint and do other theraputic activities in a safe and loving environment. A warm and hearty lunch is provided for the children before they leave. It is difficult for Stewart and the team to choose which children will come to the coffeehouse each week and which ones will have to wait for for another turn. Their space at the center in Kalighat is very small and the number of children desiring to come is increasing. Their next step is to buy or build a residential centre for these children.
Ministry to ladies in the Kalighat red-light area:Around the same time that Stewart and Monique began the Howrah Ministry, they also felt led to start a ministry for the sex-workers in Kalighat. They prayed and walked in this area for several months and met a devout Hindu man who was willing to rent out his small store-front property to them. The center is located very close to the Kali Temple as well as Mother Theresa's Home for the sick and dying. It is a real "lighthouse" in the midst of spiritual darkness.
The "At The Well" Center is known by the ladies in the red-light district as the "Coffeehouse." It is a drop-in center where the ladies come in and spend time with the ministry team. They often pray and have worship times with the ladies who are open. It is also our "Prayer house" where the team regularly intercedes for the Kalighat area and for the ladies working in the red-light district. Another imporanat part of their ministry is visiting the women in the brothels. Many of the women are open to the ministry team coming to their room for tea and prayer.. The two different groups of women that they minister to are the Bengali women and the Nepali women. Many of these ladies have been forced into prostitution at a very young age or have succumbed to this profession due to severe poverty. Their stories are tragic & heart breaking. It is the desire of Stewart and Monique to see these precious ladies set free spiritually, physically and emotionally.
Kids Club
There are many homeless families that live just outside the door of the "At The Well" Center. An afternoon program runs four days weekly for the children who live one the streets. There are approximately 14 children who attend varying in age from 10-16 years old. They hear Bible Stories, sing, pray, learn basic English and draw and paint. The Center is like a home for them, a place where they find shelter from the heat, the rain and where they find unconditional love. Through this program, they are growing in Christ and learning that God has a special plan and purpose for their life. These children also attend the Saturday Church service every week.
Saturday Service in KalighatFor the past 3 years, God has opened the way for a Saturday Church Service in the Red Light area. It is an informal church service for these ladies and their children. The Greek Orthodox Church, located very close to the At The Well Center, has kindly permitted Stewart and Monique to use their outdoor premises for the services. In a beautiful garden, Christ's message of love and forgiveness is shared in the lives of these precious people. In the beginning, there were just a handful of people attending, and now they are averaging around 50 people (women & children and even a few men).
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