A listener letter

Ramu was tall and gaunt, with sunken eyes that were always on the move, looking for the next young girl on whom to prey. Ramu was a pimp and had only one interest: to coax the villagers into sending their young girls with him to the nearby city where he would find work for them. Here is Ramu’s story in his own words (excerpted and adapted from the book I Heard a Voice by Vinita Shaw, CEO of TWR-India):

I would gather young girls and take them to the city, as one takes cows to be slaughtered, where they would be supplied to brothels. My trade was so prosperous that I supplied young girls to Mumbai and even across the border to Nepal. It wasn’t difficult at all. The poor villagers were like sitting ducks, waiting to be preyed upon. I would look for new villages each time. Making money had never been this easy, especially since I belonged to the area, looked like one of them, spoke their language and had a way of ‘marketing’ my ideas.

I earned a hefty commission because the steady flow of girls that I kept providing made me the best at the game. And so, I reveled in my newfound wealth and squandered it all. Never once did I regret my actions. Never once did I think of the ruin I had brought to the lives of innumerable young girls. Life was busy, and days were full for me.

The horror of my deeds never struck me, until one day, in my drunkenness, I switched on the radio and happened to listen to [TWR’s] Bhojpuri program. I heard it because the man was speaking in a colloquial language, something I did not have to stretch my mind to understand. I also heard it because the man’s voice had a gentle tone.

I listened to it again the next week, out of sheer curiosity. A radio program had never before had such an effect on me. As I continued listening, I began to realize the awfulness of my crimes and the immorality and ugliness of my life. I felt unclean and ashamed.

“And to tell you that I am not counting your sin (2 Cor. 5:19),” the speaker said on the program. These words burned in my heart. Who was offering me pardon, without my asking? Even I cannot forgive myself, I thought. Wasting no time, I invited the Lord Jesus into my heart. I confessed all my sins, and I am a changed man today. I still do not have the courage to look at myself in the eye, but I know that Jesus has forgiven me. Please pray for me.

—A TWR listener in India