Deception

The call came about 3 weeks ago.

A mother very sick, the neighbours don't know what to do.

They mother and her daughter were brought to JSK in a pathetic state. She was gaunt and not able to speak. We understood that she had been suffering from psychiatric problems for over a year. Her husband was HIV positive and living in a Terminal Care Centre. The child was a mass of open sores. When she sat on one of the white chairs at the JSK centre she left some of her blood behind on it. The mother did not respond much - so the people who brought her did the talking.

We asked them who they were and they said they were neighbours of this family - that the husband had been admitted and since then the family had been evicted from their house and so they as neighbours were trying to look after the mother and child. They said that they could not look after her any more - and would be putting her on a train and leaving her in the village if nothing could be done here.

We will call the lady "Noreen" and her daughter "Ovi".

Over the next few days we started visiting the place. By God's grace Ovi's sores responded well to being dressed properly and the antibiotics that we gave her. The girl was able to smile again. We needed to do some tests for Noreen to understand her situation - and though she still did not talk much - she was cooperative on the trips to the hospital labs.

Our normal partners were unable to accomodate this family - and we were on the verge of giving up before we thought of asking if SEAL would help. SEAL is a radical outfit - they run an ashram that cares for the destitute and dying - and have started a new work at a village called Akurli (click here to learn more about them). The two pastors who form the core of the work - Pastor Phillip and Pastor Bijoy - are pentecostal variants of Mother Theresa - men of amazing zeal and tenacity. When we called them up, they immediately said 'yes' they would take Noreen and her son and daughter.

And so yesterday came when it was time to take them to SEAL.

Suddenly the neighbours had a different take. Since the HIV test for Noreen's son was negative, and he is studying in 4th standard, they said 'we will look after him.'

We had already been suspicious - but this confirmed it.

We could not leave a boy with 'neighbours' and so told them that unless they were his relatives he would have to go with his mother to the Ashram.

Then it came out. They were relatives. The main man was the brother of Noreen's husband.

They were 'sorry' for having lied to us.

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we face so much brokenness, so much deception, so many layers of cruelty within cruelty

our only hope is Emmanuel

that family, who thinks they have 'been relieved' of Noreen and Ovi don't realise that Noreen and Ovi are now living with children of the King of Kings

... many who are last, shall be first...