Camilla. A Modern-day Mother Teresa.
I would like to share a bit about a most inspiring lady I had the privilege of encountering in Kolkata. I have changed her name for the sake of privacy.
“It’s all thanks to Jesus. It’s all by the power of the Holy Spirit”. This is her answer to everything, her humble faith, her life source. It’s her answer to all my questions and comments.
The journey from central Kolkata to the slum village where Camilla works tirelessly is about a 45 minute drive, so I have plenty of time to interrogate her. The story she tells me inspires me beyond all expectations.
Camilla is from a village in the state of Maharashtra. She grew up in an orphanage, run by Australian missionaries. Faith in Jesus has been her rock since the beginning. This extraordinary woman has weathered so much, from an absent family to the heartbreak of being separated from her adoptive Australian family, from coming face to face with death more than once, from marrying into a Hindu family and facing rejection and persecution, only to witness them coming to know the Lord too. To Camilla, her take on life is clear: through every trial, God is good and has been faithful. And to this day she lives to share this hope she has.
Ever since a young age, Camilla has felt a deep calling to serve the poor, the unreached of India, especially those who don’t know the Gospel. A simple call to share the love of Jesus.
Younger, she faced an impossible challenge. How to share her good news with people of different tribes all speaking different dialects and languages, when she could only speak English? Feeling great sorrow and distress at this seemingly insurmountable obstacle, Camilla explains she pleaded to God for a solution. After praying and fasting for three days, nothing short of a miracle occurred. A modern-day Pentecost. Camilla found herself able to understand, and communicate in languages she had never encountered before. No explanation of logical conclusion to this divine gift. Ever since, she has been able to communicate with Indians from all different tribes and regions, in their native tongues. If that doesn’t make you stop and think, I’m not sure what will.
I come into contact with Camilla via her incredibly kind, prayer-warrior of a husband, and she invites me to accompany her on one of her visits to a local village, a slum settlement constructed, and in parts crumbling, by the railway tracks.
Poorest of the poor doesn’t really cover it. Tin roofed shacks constructed with mud, infested with rats and venomous snakes. Drainage, forget it, open sewers run between the houses. People here can hardly afford to eat, never mind afford healthcare. And the worst off, the most vulnerable, are the widows, who cannot work and receive no support. I am introduced to several of them, who kindly make tea for us, and one heart-breaking case of a lady suffering from throat cancer, who has a hole in her throat she must plug with her finger to utter a few, croaky words. This is the dire destitution which is often conjured up when Westerners think of Calcutta.
This is where Camilla comes in. This is where the love of Jesus steps into this ghetto of suffering. A one-woman team, armed with meagre funds but truckloads of faith, she visits the village every week, to help rebuild homes, distribute food, clothing, sanitary items and various provisions. But the help she provides is more than practical. Camilla offers prayer and discipleship to all those she encounters. She offers a listening ear, a caring presence. She runs a weekly prayer meeting, shares her hope through these practical and spiritual means. At first, she was met with hostility by the village’s predominantly Hindu and Muslim inhabitants, to the extent of receiving death threats. But little by little, conversation after conversation, one answered prayer after another, one miracle after another, people are slowly beginning to open their hearts. Camilla is affectionately referred to as the ‘Auntie’ of the village, Jesus known as ‘Auntie's God’. She is entering her late sixties I think, but continues to ‘walk in God’s strength’. She has no intention of stopping. This is a woman on a mission.
The next week, Camilla invites me to her home in Kolkata. I meet her incredibly welcoming and generous family, who are very impressed that I can carry off walking in a saree. They feed me with heaps of sumptuous Biriyani, vegetable broth (Camilla explains she made this especially for me, as she thought I may miss this European style of food) and exquisitely sweet, milky Ras Malai.
But truthfully, it is one thing to be well-fed physically. I feel spiritually fed. Empowered, moved, challenged and inspired beyond words by this modern-day Mother Teresa’s life, by her story, by her unwavering faith in Jesus.
Below: souls of Kolkata
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