News from India

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus

I was sitting on the bus today when a young man nearby gave me a great smile. He told me his name was Biju and that he was studying at a Bible College to become a pastor. He was a member of Pastor Sam’s congregation at Perookada. He was born with a badly deformed heart and the doctors gave him a day or two to live. Sam was a great man of prayer and fasting and everyone prayed and Biju survived. HHI provided the funds for Biju to have a major operation in Bangalore while still 3 or 4 months old. There was a wonderful doctor there – a wonderful man as well as a wonderful doctor – who was given the name “The operating machine”. He pioneered operations on newly born babies and at that time he had performed 4000 operations. We arrived late in the day, there was a big crowd waiting to see him, but there was no tension, no problem, only a kindly consultation. Now Biju is 100% well – such a fine young man. We can only thank God for Sam and HHI.

Everyone here is thrilled at the news of Mother Theresa being proclaimed a saint and the first few pages of all the papers are taken up with the news. And if the Hindu papers are less enthusiastic than the Times of India headline “Mother Theresa gets a halo, the world a saint”, the articles that follow are all very sincere and moving. How wonderfully God used this simple but extraordinary woman. At a time when “missionary” was a dirty word she called her congregation “Missioners of Charity”. I had the privilege of meeting her; one of her co-workers told me, “When you are talking with Mother Theresa you are the only person in the world.”

Again this month two cases needed expensive implants, one being one of Shibu’s “unknowns” and the other a very poor family from Tamil Nadu [one cost £200 and the other £80]. In both cases, the patients would have been discharged untreated, or the operation postponed.

This morning near the medical hospital I met Jose – he knew me from the TB hospital. He had been looking for me for two months as he had been diagnosed with hepatitis C. The medicines cost Rs.25,000 [£300] a month and he needs them for six months. An agent will give them Rs.14,500 [£170] a month. I’m meeting him today, but I told Jose we’ll help him out. I don’t know how HHI finances are, but would Rs. 5,000 [£60] be possible?

With all our thanks and prayers

Tom

Can anyone help?