The light has returned to Santosh’s eyes, and his prospects for a fulfilling life have been restored! Santosh married his sweetheart on April 23. He waited a long time for this opportunity.

Can you imagine the challenges of not only living with the debilitating effects of leprosy, but also having to sleep on a floor of volcanic lava rock with little to cushion your ravaged body? Such is the plight of a community of leprosy patients, many of them aging. They live outside Goma, DR Congo, on top of the hardened aftermath of a volcanic eruption that occurred several decades ago. Much of the city was covered by the lava flow, causing many to move or rebuild in innovative ways.

The following is the testimony of Don Riker, a dear brother and colaborer in the fight against leprosy and its social stigmas. His words are a powerful testimony to the determination of a man of God who sacrificed his health for the "least of these."

God told the Israelites to frequently take time to recall His great works and His faithfulness. When I do so I’m immediately overwhelmed by the goodness of God—that’s how I feel when I think back over the past 10 years of building relationships with dear saints who live in the Moula ali leprosy colony near Hyderabad, India. Will you reminisce with me in words and pictures? After all, many of you have been along for the “ride” some or all of those years, and you have shared a vital part in this ministry to those who are truly the “least of these."

Rejection is the constant companion of children born into the stigma of leprosy families, despite remaining unaffected by the disease. They must live with the stigma of never fitting in with their “normal” peers, forever keeping them locked in a prison of isolation.

It was the best of trips; it was the worse of trips. This year’s attempt to visit the main leprosy colony you've supported in Hyderabad, India, had ominous beginnings.