Wellspring--Delhi, India

by Sarah Snodgrass

Greetings from Delhi, India! The day has been an eventful one...full of rickshaws, delicious food, and wonderful conversations with amazing people.

Around 10 o’clock, Thomas Skaria, who is on the staff of RZIM India met us and we took the hour and a half drive to East Delhi. There, we had the opportunity to spend many hours at The Leprosy Mission, a place where he had been on staff for several years. My heart was broken for the people who suffer from this, not only debilitating, but also socially unaccepted disease. It struck me when Steve, the director of TLM, said how hard it was to get support because especially in the West, we have no comprehension of leprosy whatsoever. It’s such a foreign thing to us and also a disease that we think of as not a modern problem. When I mentioned we were going to the Mission, often the response was, “People still have leprosy?”

And it’s quite striking how much of a problem it is. Tens of thousands still suffer from it all over India and has such disastrous effects. And part of the problem is that they still don’t know what causes it or how it’s transmitted. So education and prevention are obviously a huge issue if you don’t even know what the root cause is. And the social stigma that is attached creates another aspect to the disease that makes it even more difficult to treat.

One of the things that made my heart ache was when the director told us that people will cut themselves, because they can’t feel pain, so that they can be admitted to the hospital for a meal. So, not only are these people suffering from leprosy but they are starving and willing to cause themselves physical damage just so satisfy their hunger for one day.

Often, because of gangrene and other side effects of the disease, amputation is the only option. So people have to live without feet and hands. They go blind because the muscles in their eyes stop working and they can no longer blink. The things that we take so for granted…blinking…now become a conscious effort for these people.

And as I sit here, half a world away from my home, I can’t believe that people in this time with the kind of medical breakthroughs that have been made in the last century, still suffer the way these people suffer. Their lives are forever limited by this disease. I just wanted to hug every one of them. Just to comfort and encourage them. And I am simply struck by how well we have it in the United States and how much we take it for granted. What a privilege it is to live the way we do.

We left The Leprosy Mission around 4pm and drove back to the hotel. We met up with Thomas and his wife around 7:30 and they took us to a nearby restaurant where we had fabulous Indian food. Seriously, I’m totally loving the complete and total access to non-stop Indian cuisine. I think it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite types of food. We had a lovely time and it was great to spend some time with Thomas. He is a very kind man and I look forward to seeing him again in the future. He has a genuine joy about him and a spirit of kindness that I would like to emulate.

For now, I need to pack and get ready for bed. My bag is about packed to capacity so it will take some expert skills to get everything packed back in properly. Tonight, I pray for those that are affected by leprosy. I pray that advances and steps forward would continue to be made and that the Lord's healing hand would be upon them. I am thankful for such a wonderful day and the Lord's provision and for being kept safe. I am so grateful for the chance to be in this place with these people. I pray that Wellspring will be good stewards of the gifts that God's entrusted to us.

Until then…shalom.