If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

My heart was broken yesterday.

If only i could explain to you the things we saw, the smells we smelt, and the people wasting away right before us. But i do not think that my words could ever fully explain it, no matter how hard i tried. 

We were told when we first got here about a man who has a heart for lepers, we met this man, his name is Victor.

 We really felt a tugging on our heart to go to these people. So yesterday we got in the car, not really knowing what to expect, but giving our day to God. 

As we parked the car, we saw a village of small shacks that was complete destitution. We could not even leave a water bottle in the car because the car would be broken into and the water stolen. 

We started to walk into the beginning of the shacks. But this wasn't just a normal slum in India. It was a leprosy colony, full of people whose bodies were slowly being eaten away and falling off. This was one of thirty six colonies in New Deli alone, there was over 200 families living in the colony, which completely blew my mind. There are so many people suffering from a disease that is now curable. 

These people have come to Delhi, because once one member of a family gets leprosy they are shunned from their villages. Not only the one member, but the whole family also. These people rarely have contact with people outside of their colony, except for when they have to go to the hospital in extreme situations. 

We missed the church service which is held by Pastor Victor every sunday, because we got locked inside the Children's home. But the pastor asked us if we would be willing to go house to house and pray for each family, so we did. 

So we prayed, in each house of this colony. We prayed for everything, there were moments of laughter, and moments of sadness that took your breath away. These people honestly have nothing, since they have gotten the disease they have been cast out of their homes, and are looked at as disgrace's. 

Although some of the people had accepted Jesus as their Savior, hope was missing from their faces. The joy of Jesus wasn't there. Hardly any outsiders come and visit these people, and the lack of physical touch among them hung in the air. All they want is to be accepted and loved for who they are. When Jesus came upon a leper in the Bible, He didn't turn him away, He healed him. 

I do not think that most people could stomach what we saw, so i am thankful to God that He gave Kate and I a heart of compassion for people like this. As we walked from house to house people were handing us babies left and right, either to pray for them or just to hold them. Walking into different houses it was amazing to feel the different atmospheres in each house, you knew if it was a Christian home right when you walked in the door, prayer came easily and laughter soon followed. But entering into a hindu or muslim home was a completely different experience, Satan didn't want us there, so he made it hard for us, either by causing distractions or having the people not want us to pray for them (but would always let us pray for their children.) 

We met a girl, she was about 8 years old. They us pray for her for deliverance of evil spirits when we first got there, but we really didn't know the whole story. But at the last house, the girl appeared again, and we were told her story. Both of her parents were lepers, and they both had aids...so she had aids. This 8 year old girl, had no parents,  was living in a leper colony, and had a disease that will soon take her life. The Pastor said she was his special case, and that he knew Jesus would heal her. I pray so hard, that she will be healed. She was beautiful, and her smile was contagious. Please pray for this girl. She may never get to move away from the colony but she can be healed and make a difference in the lives of her neighbors. 

On an amazing note, we met this one man. He was old, most likely in his late 70's. His wife was extremely sick, and will probably not live much longer. But this man's stories is absolutely amazing. He was the first Christian in the colony, he gave his life to Christ 37 years ago, and since then he has brought 185 people to Christ in the colony. Which has completely changed the outlook in the colony.  

Hopefully we will be able to go back and visit the people again, and be able to go to the other colonies.