Chanda is walking

Pastoral worker Daniel Savji tells stories from the Picture Bible while children attentively listen. - Photo: Daniel Savji

Recently, when a new parish was created, I was asked to minister to almost 300 families in 13 villages spread around Interior Sindh near the districts of Umerkot and Mirpurkhas. This used to be part of Khipro Parish but because of its considerable distance from the parish centre, the area has been on the margins for pastoral visits from the parish team. Some families have not met a priest for ten years or more and have returned to their Hindu roots. I am currently doing pastoral visits to these families with the hope of doing some catechesis.

Aside from meeting the Christian families, we inevitably meet their Hindu neighbours. In one village in Duro Naru, where there are only five families, most of those present at the Mass are Hindu children and some women. The Christians live among hundreds of Hindus. Those nearby attend the Mass, and they are very receptive to the stories when the gospel is read. They have no understanding of our Christian faith but their faces light up when they hear stories from the gospel being told by the pastoral worker using the picture bible (a bible consisting mostly of illustrations of biblical events).

A certain experience that I found remarkable was when one Christian woman approached me and asked me to pray for her little girl named Chanda. She was unlike any of the other children, unstoppably crawling on the ground and looking like she was enjoying it. She looked very happy and healthy. Her face radiated positive energy. Then her mother hurriedly grabbed her and picked her up as she was about to fall into a ditch. She then told me that Chanda was three years old and not able to walk.

I looked at her and knew right then and there that she was differently abled. She had a condition commonly known as Down syndrome.

The Christian woman asked me if I could pray for her daughter so that she could walk. Without any hesitation, I gently placed my hand on the child’s head and uttered a silent prayer for the girl as her mother intently watched.

A few weeks afterwards, I went back to the same village. The Christian woman greeted me and was very excited to tell me that Chanda could stand and walk on her own. I was surprised by this news. I told her to call the child as I wanted to see this myself. She was brought by her mother, who put her on the ground. I saw her walking on her bare feet - she walked so fast that she had to be stopped from tumbling into the ditch. I was so happy at what I witnessed that I felt a sense of bliss from deep within me. The mother thanked me for my prayers.

High school students give their full attention in class. - Photo: St Columbans Mission Society

I understood that the mother did not really know about Chanda’s condition. I asked her if the child could talk. She said she could make sounds, but they hadn’t heard her speak words yet. I knew that conditions such as Chanda’s needed special attention and care. I tried to explain what she had, but I couldn’t speak their language, so it was difficult. Nonetheless, I was happy that she could walk. From then on, they became familiar faces among the Hindu neighbours, coming to see me every visit I made to that village.

They must have believed that it was through my prayer that Chanda was able to walk. I chuckled at the idea. In my mind, it was sheer coincidence that I had been there to pray for the child at the time when she was beginning to develop the skill to walk. Or maybe it was made possible by prayer. I do believe in the power of prayer. I know in myself that I intently prayed as I laid my hands on her.

One thing is certain, though. It is in these profound interactions that we make real connections. It makes mission and the ministry of going to the villages fulfilling because we can touch people’s lives, not only of our own people but people of other faiths through conversation and sharing our innermost beliefs and practices.

I’ve always likened our visits to the villages to the massive irrigation system that makes farming possible in an arid region like Sindh. The visits are like the water that intently seeks and gives life to the Christian faith among the Parkari people, a simple gesture that is deeply significant for people who are burdened. But it goes both ways - we are enormously enriched, too, from meeting them during our journeys to the villages.

I looked at her and knew right then and there that she was differently abled. She had a condition commonly known as Down syndrome.

Columban Fr Louie Ybañez lives and works in Pakistan.