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I was born into a large Christian family. But, my mother really did all the hard work making sure we children were dedicated believers; my father was not part of our Christian beliefs. He always used to spend nights with other women and stay away from home. I never saw him loving my mother. When I was five years old, he married another woman and left our home for good. It was very hard for my mother to feed and take care of five children. She always got depressed and felt hopeless. Seeing all of these things made me feel so badly. I had to be mature and have courage even in my childhood. I never got time to play and enjoy childhood because there was a pressure on me to grow up quickly and be mature early. All these things broke my heart.

Our economic condition was one of our worst family struggles and it drove me to want to do something to help women. While we were struggling, we met two Aunties from Holland. They had a great vision to work among children in Nepal and even today they remain in Nepal working among children. They came into our church, and when they saw our difficulties and problems, they were so excited to be able to love and care us. I am the youngest one in the family. So, they loved and cared for me the most. With their help, our living condition started to improve.

But, since my father never spent a night at home, I felt as if I were an orphan without parents. This made me depressed. I used to go Sunday school, but I no longer felt my faith in Christ. I used to feel as if there were no God, because if there were a God, he would never let our family live in this hard situation. I only went to Sunday school to make my mother happy. By the time I was 13, I was totally depressed. But even though I felt that way, God gave me a vision that it was not only my family in this type situation. There were thousands of women who are in situations like my mother but they never gave up their faith. So, I started to read the Bible and pray regularly. I put my situation in God's hands. While reading the Bible, I found John 14:27 which gave me a peace in my heart. I repented of my sin and started to experience the peace that verse speaks of in my heart.

But I had a great vision to work among women and children. I especially wanted to minister among the women, who were in depression and hopeless as well as among the children, who were orphans without parents. I prayed to God about this and I married a man who is a leader of the church. Then, we both trusted and waited for God's time. As a result, God gave me this ministry with Project Hannah. I would like to thank God who never left me alone in my life no matter what hard situation I was in. And, I also want to thank those who prayed for me and my life ministry.

Click to read Shanti’s full Q&A.

Click to read Founder Marli Spieker’s Hannah’s Heartbeat Newsletter column about Shanti.

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