The Man with No Legs

Pastor Santha Rao introduces Russ

Thursday night we did High Church.  Pastor Santha Rao took us to a brother pastor’s parish, in Pitalavani Palem. They are Evangelical Lutheran, and both the church and worship were a bit more in the western tradition.  Pastor Abraham wore a white cassock and the conservative altar hangings contrasted sharply with colorful tinsel draped from the rafters overhead.  We entered the well-kept stucco building, complete with steeple, and I sat on floor mats among the women.  I think Kipling was mistaken—East does meet West sometimes, but he was right in that it happens only in God’s presence.  (…East is East, and West is West and ne’er the twain shall meet, til Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat…)

Pastor Santha Rao introduced Russ, Pastor Abraham’s 

The Man with No Legs Preaching

congregation greeted him, and we sang hymns in Telugu words whose melodies had roots in Wittenberg or Frankfurt.  Once again, the Lord led Russ to intertwine his personal testimony with a message about the uniqueness of each human soul created in the image of the One True God.  The concept of sin and the need for salvation were clearly and passionately explained.  I feel this was Russ’ best presentation so far. 

We realized yesterday that the Lord is creating an interesting phenomenon.  Word is spreading rapidly about “the man with no legs who is traveling across India to preach the gospel”.  The common people here, where suffering is an integral part of life, recognize the validity of Russ’ experience with God during the past two terrible years.  The upper class marvel that he would brave the discomfort and challenges to travel here.  Believers are being encouraged, and the unsaved come out of curiosity.  Even at the children’s program last night, Russ captivated them with his titanium legs.  And we have received an invitation to speak in Hyderabad and to outlying tribal villages where pastors are hearing the rumors.

East and West before God's Throne

Russ sometimes jokes about his “weight loss plan—very effective but not recommended”—referring to his amputations.  I don’t think we need to seek suffering, but God always works everything together for good, to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  He is using “the man with no legs” to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to India.  We are definitely being used for His purpose.   

--Alice Sharrock