Stories & Testimonies

Some of the photos are too graphic to be published in our magazine. They show the terribly-infected sores of leprosy victims whom we visited in Hyderabad, India, earlier this year. As we took those photos of leprosy victims and their festering infections (with their accompanying stench), our only consolation was the knowledge that Heaven's Family was offering hope and healing through the compassion of one very special lady. She was dressing the wounds of those whom very few are willing to touch. Her name is Prasanna Johnson.

Susanna's face radiated with joy. And it was no wonder. For her, our arrival marked a new beginning. I was in Hyderabad, India, to visit a community of people affected by leprosy that Heaven's Family has been helping in various ways. Early last year, for example, through a child-sponsorship program, we opened a school for the ostracized, but healthy, children of those afflicted with leprosy. We've also opened a medical clinic just to serve the hundreds of people in Hyderabad who have the cruel disease.

"Leprosy." Eternal silence seemed to follow that single, dreaded word as it fell from the doctor's lips. Su Gui Zhong's heart began to race in panic as the diagnosis of an infected patch of skin registered. I'm a leper! Only 24 years old, she knew that her world was about to end. Before that awful moment, Su Gui had every reason to be optimistic about her future. She lived a simple but fulfilling life in rural China, happily married with three precious daughters. She and her husband had recently finished building a new house that had become their little home. Her community was tight-knit and supportive.