Malwani lies in the Malad (w) area of western Mumbai. This location consists of very big slum areas known for the Muslim majority. Human settlements are found almost everywhere. It is a place known for high crime rate.

Maximum of people are Muslims accounting for about more than half of the total population. There is a Hindu minority and very little amount of Christians. There are mosques found everywhere. The month of Ramzan (The holy month) is celebrated very grandly in this area. Even temples are more in Number. Very few Churches can be noticed.

People are blindly bound to the religion. Preaching Christianity is not allowed.

Popular to be the area having the minimum number of schools. Only about 30% of the people are educated. Most of the children are uneducated but no measures are taken to educate these students. Many people are unemployed and earn their living by working on daily wage basis. They are very poor and sometimes they are bound to do criminal works for their survival. The crime rate in this area is very high, it has about 2500 major cases per year. There are drunkards, drug addicts also. People live here with many problems. No proper facilities of any sort are provided.

There are many hutments made of plastic and sack cloths. People live in a very small area. There are a total of about 1.5 lakh of people living in this slum. Due to this problem there is always shortage of food and other basic facilities. There are about 10 to 12 people in one small house. There are measures being undertaken by the medical department by but the results have utterly failed.

The Block no. 8 in Malwani is very famous as a center for criminals. Many pick pocketers, adulterers, thieves and other such criminals reside here. People are afraid of coming to this side of Malwani. It has a typically bad reputation due to continuous riots and fights. People here live in the slum area called as 8 number slums. It is said to be the third largest slum in Mumbai. People live in small huts and earn their living through these illegal acts. A majority of the people here are Muslims. They have constructed their mosques too. But there are many who are abandoned from the mosques (called as masjids in local language). This is due to their involvement in anti social activities. These people are not allowed to step inside the mosque. They cannot take part in the prayer meetings conducted on Fridays. They contributions are not accepted. In this way they live and abandoned life here.

Walking along the streets of this area one can find young boys roaming about here and there. People having fights and quarrels etc. The language used by these people is utterly bad. There are many people who are unemployed and there are no development programs being operated by the government in this part of the city.

Recently a Christian family, a husband wife and a child came to live in this area. They rented a room in one of the chawls and started living there. They enquired for the Church and somehow started attending the Malwani Church of Christ. They are very good believers and are learning the Word of God.

On 1ST Oct 04 it so happened that they arranged a prayer meeting in their house as it was the birthday of their son. Bro. P.D.Prasada Rao, Bro. N.B.Sundara Rao , Bro. N.John Samuel and Bro. Shantikumar and all the church members were present for the meeting. The family has also invited some of the neighbors. They were all Muslims. They came for the meeting. As Brother P.D.Prasada Rao was preaching many started coming inside the room to her what Brother was talking about. Brother P.D. delivered a good message on the life of Jesus Christ. There were some of the Muslim elders who were present for the meeting. After the meeting was over they asked us weather we can come to their committee hall nearby so that these people could become more clear with the ideas preached there. We accepted their invitation.

Two days after the meeting we went to the community hall 3rd Oct 04. There about 40 people were gathered. At first we feared because a Muslim crowd in such a big number could harm us but this proved to be a misconception after the warm welcome they gave to all of us.

Bro. P.D. was present for the meeting along with the other preachers. Bro. P.D. started with a word of Prayer and then he preached a very powerful message on Jesus Christ and the Scheme of Redemption. Some the people didn't like that Christ be preached to them and so they went away but the people who remained hear well and were very happy with the message.

They said that they were in search of such people who could at least pray for them, as they were abandoned form the mosques. One of the Muslim leaders was very influenced with the Word of God and asked us to conduct a prayer meeting at his residence. We accepted his invitation and arranged a Gospel meeting at their house a week later. The family was very happy to have us there.

They were very interested in hearing the Word of God. I preached them from Rom 8:31, 1 Thimothi 2 : 1-7, 1 Peter 2 :21-25 1 Corinthi 1:10. The verses touched their hearts. Some other Muslims were also present for the meeting they heard the message very well. The family requested us to conduct such meetings at least once a month and pray for them.

This was the first time we had acquaintance with Muslims in Malwani area itself. These Muslim people are considered to be very dangerous among others. The families are very much given up to bad activities. They send their daughters to work in the Bars as call girls and the boys roam about here and there and do roguish activities in the locality. In this way these people are lost in the darkness. But the Word of God wants everyone to be saved and that no one should perish.

Today the Word of God has touched this family and is experiencing changes in their lives. The prayers are giving results and they are coming to know that God almighty loves them and wants them to be his good children.

I believe that soon God will touch this family and they will be Baptized in Christ.

Please pray for this Muslim family and this new ministry among Muslims.

Yours in His service,

( P.D.PRASADA RAO )