Letters From Grandpa #522

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 522

Dearest grandchild,

Many years ago I was invited to teach a group of preachers in Visakhapatnam, India. This is the largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and is on the Bay of Bengal. Our friend, the late Doug Willis, had discovered this group of faithful preachers there who were not affiliated with any denomination. They were merely Christians, just like the ones we read about in the Bible. I found them to be true disciples who were willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Christ.

While there I became aware of the “Dowery System” in India. In my mind a dowry was something a man paid for the privilege of marrying a girl. In India, however, it is the reverse. In India the parents of a girl must pay the dowry to a man in order for him to marry their daughter. Wikipedia states: “The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. . . The dowry system can put great financial burden on the bride's family. In some cases, the dowry system leads to crimes against women, ranging from emotional abuse and injury to even deaths. The payment of dowry has long been prohibited under specific Indian laws including the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 approved by the Parliament of India.”

Even though it is against the law, the dowery system is still a reality in India. Wikipedia continues: “ A newly married woman can be a target for dowry related violence because she is tied economically and socially to her new husband. In some cases, dowry is used as a threat or hostage type situation, in order to extract more property from the bride's family. This can be seen in new brides, who are most vulnerable in the situation. Dowry crimes can occur with the threat or occurrence of violence, so that the bride's family is left with no choice but to give more dowry to protect their daughter. The northern and eastern states of India show higher rates of dowry-related violence” .

Among the many other evils of their dowery system is the selective abortion of little girls. Abortion clinics advertise that by paying a few rupees now to determine the sex of your baby, you can abort baby girls and save thousands of rupees later. One baby girl is bad news for a family, but two girls can be a financial disaster. Researchers estimate that an estimated 6.8 million fewer female births will be recorded across India by 2030 because of the persistent use of selective abortions.

Little girls who are not aborted are often abandoned on the streets or sold to evil people in the sex trade. One faithful Christian family in Visakhapatnam had rescued a dozen girls from the streets and I was asked to share with them a devotion from the Bible. One by one these precious little girls gave their testimonies so that I might try to wrap my mind around the misery they had experienced. In particular I struggled with the Biblical truth that God is our Father. To me this communicated that God was like my father. My father loved me and if I asked him for a fish he would not give me a serpent. To these abandoned little girls, however, the word “father” brought a totally different set of memories.

God has blessed our family with 26 grandchildren, 12 of whom are girls. God has also blessed us with 23 great grandchildren, 12 of these are also girls. I thank God that these precious girls were born in families that follow the example of Jesus and love all little children. In fact, if you bring injury to any of these little ones, Jesus said it would be better for you if a mill stone was tied around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

This brings us to the sad reality that many little baby girls are not safe in the United States either. Statistics by the Guttmacher Institute (updated on May 10, 2024), indicate that abortions in the U.S. have actually increased since the 2022 Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade. In the first full calendar year since this decision (2023), an estimated 1,037,000 abortions occurred in the U.S. This represents 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women and is an increase of 11% since 2020, which is the last year when comprehensive estimates are available. They continue “This is also the highest number and rate measured in the United States in over a decade.” Fox News reports that over 63 million abortions have occurred in the U.S. since 1973 and at least half of them have been little girls.

As if blind to 63 million American babies put to death by abortion, CNN New York reports - “Immigration has long been a political football in the United States. But If you’re wondering why America’s labor shortage persists nearly three years into the Covid pandemic, it’s in part because America doesn’t have enough immigrants.”

The following poem is taken from Meditations for Mother by Mike Pratt.

O mothers, so weary, discouraged, worn out with the cares of the day, You often grow cross and impatient, complain of the noise and the play:

For the day brings so many vexations, so many things going amiss; But mothers, whatever may vex you, send the children to bed with a kiss.

The dear little feet wander often, perhaps from the pathway of right. The dear little hands find new mischief to try you from morning ‘till night.

But think of the desolate mothers who’d give all the world for your bliss. And, as thanks for your infinite blessings, send the children to bed with a kiss.

For someday their noise will not vex you, the silence will hurt you far more; You will long for their sweet childish voices, for a sweet childish face at the door;

And to press a child’s face to your bosom – you’d give all the world for just this!

For the comfort ‘twill bring you in sorrow, send the children to bed with a kiss!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce