We Are Going. With Full Hearts.

On Sunday morning, we stood before our church family at the International Baptist Church in Stuttgart and made it official: our family is moving to India this fall.

Vikram announces the family's move to India at IBC

For the past few years, I’ve been traveling back and forth from Germany to India, serving widows through our ministry Widow’s Hope. But something in our hearts knew it was time; not just to visit, but to go, to be fully present, to build this work from the ground up.

We were overwhelmed by the love and support we received that morning. Pastor Keith invited us to share at both services. He prayed over us and affirmed IBC’s commitment to continue standing with us. One of the elders, Godwill, also prayed in the second service. We’re leaving with blessing, covering, and gratitude.

Let me tell you why this matters.

Last time I was in India, I visited several widowed families living in extreme poverty – women abandoned, overlooked, trying to raise children with no income and no help. One of them was Rinku.

Manju demonstrates the sewing machine to Rinku

Rinku is a young mother of four. A year ago, she lost her husband to suicide. She now wakes up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to collect scrap... metal, plastic, whatever she can find, and sells it for just enough to feed her children for that day. No savings. No safety net. No hope on the horizon.

When I met her, she was still deep in grief. But as we spoke, she shared one thing that sparked something in me: she knows how to sew. It was a small thread of hope. That was enough.

So, we gave her a brand-new sewing setup: machine, ironing press, and all the supplies she would need to start training again. Manju, our coordinator on the ground (and a trained seamstress herself), is now working with Rinku to build her skills. The goal is that in a few months, Rinku can open her own small tailoring business, earn consistently, and eventually leave behind the life of scavenging.

Tailoring is still a viable trade in India. For poor families, it's cheaper to buy fabric and have it stitched than to purchase new clothes. So there's demand, and Rinku is ready to meet it.

Even more beautiful: a couple from our church heard Rinku’s story and offered the seed money to get her business started. That’s the kind of love we’ve received here at IBC. It’s humbling.

This church has been our home. As Sabine shared at the service, after 23 years of marriage and moving from place to place, this is the first church where we’ve both felt truly at home. That’s what makes it hard to go. We don’t leave lightly, and we certainly don’t leave alone.

We go with your prayers.

We go with your support.

And we go with a desire to bring Jesus’ love to the forgotten.

If you’d like to stay connected and receive updates about what God is doing through Widow’s Hope in India, please come talk to us on Sunday after service. We are here for a few more weeks. Or you can sign up with your email anytime.

Thank you, Church. You’ve given us more than support.

You’ve given us the courage to go.

Vikram