Mariamma Meets the Miracle-Working God

A JFA Bible Worker Story from India

Mariamma with her grandson

The following story was shared with us by Jonathan and Hannah Hill, our foreign correspondents. They were able to visit the home of the family whom this story is about and hear them share their powerful testimony.

Mariamma, a small gray-haired woman, stood at the edge of a busy street with her four-year-old granddaughter on her hip. As she looked left and right for an opening amidst the heavily laden trucks, impatient taxis, and zooming motorbikes, she noticed a disabled man scanning the road as well. He would never make it across by himself, she thought. 

Securing her hold on her granddaughter, Mariamma walked over to the man and started to help him cross the street. 

“Mother, please wait,” someone called out, “we will help you. Let us all help together.” Four police officers (she thought) walked up to the man and helped him across the street. 

Once they were safely across, the four noticed a sorrowful look on the woman’s face, so they stopped to talk to her. 

“We see that you have a problem and are carrying your granddaughter. Please tell us what is going on,” one man said.

“You are police officers. How can you help me?” she asked.

“No, no, no, we are not police,” the man, whose name was Kannan, said. “We are Bible Workers. We have come here to pray for people who are in need or sick; we want to pray for them.” 

“You know, my granddaughter is very sick,” she began.

Tearfully, she explained that her granddaughter Kavi had been suffering from kidney problems, too much salt in her body, and a uterine problem that would prevent her from having children when she grew up. She was weak and lethargic. She couldn’t play with other kids her age and spent most of her time sleeping. 

When Kavi started having symptoms, her devout Hindu family took her to the temple to perform healing rituals before bringing her to the hospital. But nothing helped. Her family took her to a big hospital in a large town for treatment once a week, but she wasn’t getting better. 

To make matters worse, Mariamma’s son-in-law had separated from his family and gone to live with his parents. The family struggled financially, and they did not know what to do. 

When the Bible Workers asked if they could pray with her, she said, “I don’t know what prayer is, but I want my granddaughter to be healed. Please pray for her.”

The four Bible Workers, Kannan, Yesuraj, Muthalagu, and Sasikala, started to visit Mariamma and study the Bible with her. 

These Bible Workers serve as a team, praying with and ministering to people in Mariamma’s village and the surrounding areas.

Her relatives and neighbors tried to persuade her to continue trusting in her Hindu gods, but as she learned more about Jesus, she decided she could trust in no one but Him. She threw out all her idols and was baptized. 

After her baptism, her neighbors turned on her completely. They refused to talk to her or even allow her to get water from the community pipeline. 

Despite the attacks Satan threw her way, God protected Mariamma. He gave her the needed funds to put up a fence around her house, and she was able to get a government water pipeline installed in her home. 

God also started answering her prayers for her family. First, Mariamma’s daughter, Ishwari, began to believe in Jesus. At first, Ishwari did not like it when the Bible Workers came to her mother’s home, but she started to have hope when they told her that God could heal her little girl. She began going to church and accepted Jesus as her Savior. 

Ishwari shares her testimony.

Second, Mariamma’s son-in-law came back to his wife and children and their financial situation improved. He was initially angry whenever he heard about his wife or mother-in-law worshipping Jesus. But, over time he has softened and even allowed them to have prayer groups in the house they rented close to Mariamma’s home. 

Finally, Mariamma’s granddaughter started to recover. A chief doctor in a big hospital became interested in Kavi’s case and wanted to do some tests. While at the hospital, Ishwari prayed for God to heal her daughter. “I think I prayed more than 1,000 times,” she shared. 

She was so focused on her prayers that she didn’t hear the doctor when he shared the test results, and he had to tell her twice.

“Why are you so worried?” the doctor said. “Your daughter will be fine. She still has too much salt in her body and will need treatment, but she has no problems with her uterus. She will be a good woman and good mother in the future.”

Little Kavi is happy to be able to run around and play again.

Ishwari was so happy she could not stop crying. “Thank you, Lord, thank you! Praise God!” She cried out.

Kavi has still had some health trouble since then, but Mariamma and Ishwari trust that the same God who has kept her alive until now will continue to sustain her. Please pray for Kavi’s complete healing and Ishwari’s husband to surrender his life to Jesus. Ishwari has not yet been baptized, and she is praying that she and her husband will be able to be baptized together someday. 

Mariamma's life before and after she met God:

Jonathan shared that at the end of their interview with Mariamma, he felt there was something else he should ask her. 

Jonathan and Hannah Hill filming at Mariamma’s home.

“The thought came to my mind to ask: How is your life different now that you’ve accepted Jesus?” Jonathan said.“As soon as Israel translated the question, her eyes lit up. I couldn’t understand everything she was saying…[but when I heard the answer to] the question God impressed me to ask, I was like, woah. That wasn’t me; it wasn’t chance. That was God because that needed to be heard.”

Here is Mariamma’s response:

“When I was a Hindu, even though I went to many temples, I didn’t have peace in my heart. Something was lacking in my life, but I only understood that after accepting Jesus Christ. Now I have peace in my heart. 

“God wakes me up every night at 11:30 or 12:00 like someone is tapping me to wake me up. Then I get up and kneel and pray to God…I pray for everyone in the world. I pray for the leaders of the world. I pray for people who work in different parts of the world and those who speak different languages. I pray for the students, the young people, and people of all different religions. I pray that the same salvation shown to me will also be shown to them. I pray for people who are in debt. And whenever I have a problem in my life, I go pray…I didn’t have this kind of peace when I was a Hindu, but now I have that peace. I am so thankful for that.”

———

We are always amazed to hear of the faith and earnestness of new believers like Mariamma. She has faced hardships because of her faith in Jesus, but it has all been worth it. The love of Christ has filled and transformed her, and it is also changing her family. May we all have that faith and earnestness as we walk with the Lord.  

We praise God for the dedication of our Bible Workers like Kannan and his teammates, who have allowed God to use them so that others may know Jesus.

If God is leading you to help support the ongoing ministries of Bible Workers like these, please click the button below.