Steps forward

I have seen tomorrow. And it is here.

We met tonight in the gleaming building that will start to breathe soon as the new Bethany Hospital. We met as a group of volunteers getting ready for the dedication time on the 13th of November.

Dr. Stephen Alfred and Mr. EJ Stephen - the founder and CEO of the hospital respectively - were with us. Dr. S. talked about the 400 sq ft clinic he started out with at Gokhale Rd. in Thane. Then the 2 floor Lok Hospital - which had 2 more floors added on. And now this 8+ floor compact monster. Far beyond what a single person can think - and the result of the inputs of so many - in so many ways.

We prayed and talked about how we would be shepherding the 350 odd selected folks around the new premises. We walked through the gleaming corridors - while workmen were still putting finishing (and the stage before finishing) touches on the place. How such a huge structure can take shape. The 50 odd contractors that the hospital has been working with. The massive investments in equipment and furnishings. A nuclear medicine machine so that radiation therapy can be given for people suffering from cancer. The oh-so-right logic of a ground floor casualty with operating theatre right there for A+E patients to be taken straight in from the ambulances. And hundreds and hundreds of other details.

Breath-taking. Awe-inspiring. I felt like I was walking through Star-Wars. Maybe Star-Wards?

And yet all of this is crumbling ashes if it isn't inhabited with the love of Christ. What good is it to have the most glistening facilities, the most advanced set of specialists (Pediatric Nephrologist, Pediatric Oncologist, Pediatric Neonatologist, Pediatric Nutritionist etc - and that is only in Pediatrics...) - what good are the best docs in the world - if there is no real love - no real hope.

The crashing burden of super modern medicine was brought home to me again earlier this morning as I went down to buy a loaf of bread.

A man who distributes packets of milk was lying on a newspaper. I thought he may be drunk. He wasn't. He was sick.

Murali (pseudonym of course) is from (you guessed it) the south. He has had fever and chills. Malaria parasite negative. Query dengue. No chance of hospital admissions for him. He lives here alone with some other migrants from his area. He has had tests done and has taken meds but is not better.

In fact it gets worse. Murali is trying to pay back a debt. A debt of Rs. 5 lakhs that was incurred when his diabetic father had a heart attack. The hospitalisation and surgery put the family back that much. They sold off a portion of their land. 2.5 lakhs remained to be paid back. Murali has sold off his only 'asset' he has here - his paper route. Now he works for the person he sold it to. And Murali himself is sick - with seemingly no one to help him. All I could do was sit with him and talk. Put a hand on his shoulder and pray - before he went into the bright sunshine of his day - and back to the suburb where he shares his room with others.

We live in such a grim world.

Our prayer is that the gleaming insides of the new Bethany Hospital will be able to look after Muralis - as well as those who have health insurance and company health policies. Our working funds at Jeevan Sahara Kendra come largely from the profits that the current Lok Hospital - which will be shifting into the new Bethany Hospital. We are hugely grateful for this long-standing support for our work. And we are grateful for the huge opportunity that awaits us as we seek to shift the Jeevan Sahara Kendra work to the current Lok Hospital building.

Our Lord was full of grace and truth. May we follow his footsteps with joyful loving hearts.