In August 2013, a team of eight people travelled to Tamil Nadu which is one of the poorest states in of India with over half a million suffering from leprosy. For the two weeks of the mission they worked with Pastor Daniel Pachaiyappan of The Evangelical Gospel Mission, on a broad range of ministries. This included orphans, people with leprosy, widows, village outreach and homeless people. The team also ministered to students at School of Frontier Missions and at Pastors gatherings.
In the Leprosy “village” of approximately 60 the team engaged will all the age groups with physical rehabilitation, treatment of wounds, prayer, story telling, words of encouragement, and worship through music and dance. All the ministries had a profound impact on the village community where every member was involved in one form or other. The team donated funds to this Leprosy “village” so that the community could develop as they saw fit, ie., through the provision of transport to hospital, the purchase of a cow for milk and for fun activities for kids so it remains a vibrant community. It became clear that God was doing a transformational work in this village not least through a miracle prayer for a man who was dying and restored to life.
The team gave presentations on practical skills to students to apply in mission, ranging from physical exercises to help people with leprosy which to general health care and midwifery sessions. The team gave bible teaching to widows, students and pastors and spent several hours delivering fun-wrapped bible messages to orphans. In the unreached villages, people’s testimony touched the lives of a countless number of people. The draw in each place was creative worship and the life and joy which the team brought with them.
