At the beginning of this year when Sylvia and I were in India, we visited Vijaywanti and her husband Somsingh. (She is Vasantha’s sister) They were the recipients of three Christmas goats and we wanted to visit with them. Because of the status of this union the couple had gone against custom and therefore had been ostracized from the village. Dr. Suresh felt that their need was immense, so carefully orchestrated circumstances so as not to offend any tribal customs or mores, yet give some much needed help. (Their goats now have had twins.)
This example of love and forgiveness so affected the chief of the village that he devised a scheme whereby the entire village pitched in and bought the needed sacrificial animals and held the necessary absolution feast for 250 villagers. This fulfilled the requirements so the young couple could be restored to the village. When asked, “Why?” The chief said, “You are teaching us a better way and we need to learn to forgive and restore.” A new home was even built for the little family.
On May 25, Vijaywanti gave birth to a baby BOY without the aid of doctor or hospital. The villagers do not trust doctors, as they believe doctors just take their limited money. Since they are a schedule-caste-people their entire medical bill would be free, but they still do not trust the system. (Sound familiar???) She gave birth with the help of a mid-wife from another village, reminiscent of the USA 150 years ago.
When the baby boy was born, the mother did not have any milk due to her extreme malnutrition. She has since taken some village herbal medicine and is now able to feed her son. Mother and baby are now doing fine. If the baby had been a girl, further sacrificing would have been traditionally required.
The naming of the baby will take place in a couple of weeks with a ceremony. They have asked us to name the baby. I asked if a Christian name, which would be any name that is not tribal, would be a problem for the little guy later in life. We have decided to name him after our grandson Connor. It means, “one who has great knowledge.” Our selected name will be a second name or nickname since he will have problems at school registration with an American name.
A few years ago, the thought of school for these children was not even on the radar. One person took the time to invest in one little boy and now 14 years later we are seeing God work in miraculous ways. Your investment in Prakash makes things like this happen.
