Kothara, they exclaim, “ It looks just like a little Amer ica.” Kothara, however, was not an overnight miracle. Month upon month, year after year, in heat of 115 degrees, or in downpours that turn the solid ground into adhesive muck, the work begun by Christ in Tom, has continued through him and in many other Chris tians. The end result produced a place where the Holy Spirit could overcome sin and degradation in the heart of India. Twenty years of inspired work have reaped a harvest of 40 churches, in as many communities. The Kothara church is practical looking, (as a mother of 40 should be), as she sits solidly beside the banyan tree contributing toward the birth of another baby church. The Kothara clinic treats over 6,000 leper out patients a month. The hospital has a 300-bed capacity. There’s a long list of leper patients hoping to occupy one of them. Tom designed one o f the most efficient, modern operating rooms in India for the use of Dr. Samuel Gude, a well-known plastic surgeon. Samuel Gude trusted Christ as his Saviour when he stayed at the children’s hostel, which was taught by Patricia Major. Tom saw that Samuel was an unusual boy and sent him to higher grades. Later the mission aries helped him enter medical school. After his gradua tion, he specialized for two years in plastic surgery. He has been offered nine times the amount that the missionaries can pay him to leave them and work in the government hospitals of India. Dr. Gude can straighten the claw-like hands of the cripples and can make eyes blink again. He rebuilds caved-in noses and changes smiles that can only leer into expressions of cheerful friendliness. Dr. Gude is a man with a com mand of six languages and is at much at home before a congregation of 1,000 as he is in the operating room. After working in the hospital during the day, he takes a group of Indian Bible boys to the villages where they preach and plead with the natives to turn from their empty idols to the Christ who can fill the heart with satisfaction. Not only are the patients made whole again phys ically and spiritually, but also they are trained in trade schools that Tom has set up for them, realizing that be cause they have broken caste they would be unemployed. Kothara now embraces 80 acres of land. The grass that grew so tall has been replaced by bananas, pea nuts, oranges, and chili peppers. These items are sold and staples are purchased in larger quantities than if they were grown on the land. God has not only answered prayer abundantly for the physical bodies of those who live in the leprosarium, but also He has been completing His body, the Church. A doctor, many evangelists, ministers, nurses, adminis trators and teachers have come out of the ministry to Kothara that began with Christ in Tom Major. Almost 2000 years ago, Christ taught His disciples the value of small beginnings when He said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when sown upon the ground is the smallest of all seeds upon the earth; yet after it is sown, it grows up and becomes the greatest of all gar den herbs, and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air are able to make nests and dwell in its shade” (Mark 4:30, 31, 32). Tom Major, with as much enthusiasm today as he had twenty years ago, exclaims, “We have only begun this work. With such a long list of sick people to be treated, and unlimited spiritual potential, where can we stop? We must go on as long as India will keep her doors open to us!”
Sahib did not fear the evil spirits when he took such a low station to help them in their need. Davidos testi fied, with shining eyes, that his fear of Brahim had left him. Now he would devote his life to the God that gave such love as the Sahib had. Tom was anxious to teach these new Christians more about their Saviour. This was the basic reason he was in Kothara, but now he found that he had little time to devote to teaching. Supervisory duties were so numer ous that he found himself in a very frustrating posi tion. Those who helped in the kitchen had to be watched constantly. Food had to be processed from scratch in most cases. All the water for drinking had to be boiled. There were government books to keep besides the rec ords for his sponsors and church letters to answer. Prayer was Tom’s source of strength, so he turned again to God in a definite way asking for help to per form all his tasks. Shortly after this, Tom was notified that a Christian missionary nurse named Beth Walton believed that Christ wanted her to serve the sick at Kothara. Her coming lifted a great load of duties from Tom. Each morning after Beth arrived from Ellichpur, Tom could teach the men the reason for Christ’s coming, or train them for kitchen work, or for cultivation by modern methods in the field. With caste broken by faith in Christ, the men were willing to work together, side by side. Tom had been waiting eagerly for the arrival of a recent graduate of Wheaton College. Faye Herman had been corresponding with Tom during his toil as a novice missionary. Her letters were such a joy to receive when converting to India ways grew almost unbearable. Another prayer had been answered. Faye knew that all she wanted in life was to make a home for Tom Major. She came to India with Patricia Major, Tom’s sister. Patricia had attended Wheaton and the two girls were close friends. Tom and Faye were married in Ellichpur three weeks after she and Patricia arrived. Tom soon discovered that his bride could change a tent into a home, or turn an office into a cozy apartment. She, too, had been trained for missionary work, but her first con cern was for her husband, and later her four children, all of whom were born in India. Patricia took the responsibility of a hostel of children who had been sep arated from the parents who were with Tom at the lep rosarium. Because of added help, more patients were being released. The Lord had provided a good nurse to treat the sick, a wife to take care of Tom, and a tender hearted foster mother in Patricia Major, who had the care of the children. As the Indian people were healed by prayer, good treatment, and medication, they returned to their fami lies. It was noticeable in many villages that some of the niches that were built into each house for the family gods were empty. The former “ hopeless people” were fearlessly telling friends about Jesus. Consequently they sometimes felt the sting of persecution as they ex plained how Jesus freely gave them life forever. There was even more: one did not have to fear Kali, the good of murder and death, or any other evil spirit. Jesus was stronger than the image gods, because He was the only true God. Davidos, in particular, became a zealous “ Apostle Paul” of the twentieth century, as he shared his new found faith in Jesus Christ with his own people. His testimony was greatly respected because he had broken caste as a Brahmin without fear that he might be born into some form of life lower than a man. Today, when Christians from the States visit
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T H E K IN G 'S BU SIN ESS
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