Alumnus at Work

There was the utmost joy this week to witness Prakash alumni involved in a citywide event. The organizer, Nitin Sardar, is the brother of two of our alumnus who all together have a ministry called Dinbandhu (Friends of the Poor)

This Banjara woman is nomadic and an example of their scope of ministry.  It is somewhat ecumenical, but still has been very effective in presenting the Gospel in India.  This was a huge affair with all the pomp and circumstances that is so important here in India.

When the music began, there on the platform, in the lavender shirt, leading it was yet another Prakash alumnus.  WOW and double WOW!  This brings such affirmation to the successes of Prakash.

Loren and I were asked to sit on the platform and be honored along with every city official, newspaper editor and religious leader that could be in attendance at the five-hour affair.  We refused, stating that we did not want to be the center of attention.  Still when the program began, they came to where we were sitting and garlanded us.

The event was the showing of the newly translated movie, “End of the Spear.”  Steve Saint (with Boar tooth necklace) was only five when his missionary aviation pilot father, Nate, was speared to death by a savage tribe of Amazon Jungle Indians.  Steve wrote a book, which has been turned into this movie of how through a series of miraculous events peaceful contact was made with these Waodani (Auca) people and he was able by the grace of God to forgive the man who killed his father.  A truly unbelievable story of forgiveness!!!

Another thing that made this so exciting for Loren and I was that in the 70’s we traveled to Central and South America and to Ecuador to visit a missionary aviation pilot (MAF) Dave Osterhus.  He had been part of my pilot training, so we got to fly over this very jungle to see this ministry up close and personal.  On the day we were scheduled to land on the very beach where this massacre of five men took place, we had radio contact that it was not safe.  For two weeks we lived in the house Steve lived in at the time of this tragedy.  Loren and I have a spear, blowgun, quiver and feather headdress of the Waodanis.

Finally, after the movie, the organizers would no longer take “NO” from us so Loren and I were brought onto the platform to have a shawl of honor for our ministry to India, placed upon our shoulders and flowers given.

YES___that is a Buddhist monk doing the honors.  Go figure???  As I shook Steve’s hand I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I stayed in your house in Shell Mera.”  He was stunned and said, “Oh my, it is a small world.”  This gave us an opportunity later to speak a LITTLE with him and his travel companion, who just happens to be from Atlanta.  They knew about Prakash and if they had had time would have loved to visit our campuses.