Experiencing God in Suffering!

The last 30 days have been a beautiful experience. This is an irony considering the pain and suffering my family and extended family has experienced. From the first day we discovered my mother had cancer, it has been a bumpy ride. first the doctor in Chennai has not diagnosed the cancer, in spite of the medical report that said cancer. Then we came to Vellore and we spent about 15 anxious days in diagnosis. Then when the doctors finally decided on surgery, we were stomped by the odds against it. The doctors and our family had to make the call, a hard call, if we should go ahead or not. It was a 50-50 chance. We prayed and decided we should go ahead with the surgery. We did and it was successful. The last month has been hard, but I have experienced the love and power of God. At every juncture i felt the Lord was close to me. The most wonderful moments where in the waiting, waiting for the doctor for the endless hours, waiting for appointment dates, waiting for payments in long queues, waiting for coffee, waiting for the lift, waiting for a transport from the missionary guest house to the hospital, waiting for the surgery to be completed, waiting for the nurses to clean the wound,waiting for my wife to join me in vellore after 22 days. In all of this waiting the Lord has been talking to me. He has spoken to me about my 10 years in ministry. April 2009, it marks my ten years in ministry and the Lord is steering my heart again. He is renewing me for another 10 years in ministry, where i can impact more unreached unengaged people in India. I had paused my dreams, i am dreaming again. The last 22 days being apart from my wife and children in the midst of a lot of challenges has also helped me introspect a great deal. very honestly i missed them so much. They were supposed to join me earlier, but their ticket for the train stayed on waiting list and they could not board the train. I was devastated. So was my wife. As the days approached for their arrival i felt the minutes move like hours. And finally when they arrived i went to Chennai to receive them and what a joyful moment it was. Our relationship has got stronger. I have experience God during this hour of pain and suffering. It has drained me, but i am feeling renewed again.

Daniel P.

Note: My mother is recovering from the surgery and she will be discharged from the hospital on Monday, I want to thank you for praying for her.