Jacob and his wife, Sureshni live in Kegalle, Sri Lanka, where they’re pastors. I know because I’ve visited them. But to call them pastors is a bit of an understatement. I guess that depends on what you think pastors do. If you think pastors start vocational schools, feed and clothe widows, train missionaries, develop sustainable farms, house orphans, and lead churches, then yes, Jacob and Sureshni are pastors. But if you think pastors show up at church on Sunday in their Cadillacs, then no, they’re not pastors. Their church is a stone’s throw from their home and plus, their van broke down.
So did Jacob’s kidneys. He needs a kidney transplant or he’ll die.
This is where the story gets good. For months, doctors have been looking for a donor, someone who would give up one of their vital organs to save Jacob’s life. For the donor it would mean a surgical operation—at least five days in the hospital—followed by a long recovery. It would also mean that should something happen to their one kidney, they wouldn’t have another to fall back on. They would have to import, just like Jacob is trying to do. You might understand why it’s not easy to find a donor.
But now it looks like Jacob found one. You see, some brave soul offered their kidney to him. They decided to give away an extravagant gift, their own body part. The doctors are analyzing it and testing it and it seems they have a match – only one test to go. If all goes as planned, at the start of the new year, the doctors will place a new kidney into Jacob (well, it’s new for him). And that brave soul will be without one. Forever.
Who’s the brave soul? It’s Sureshni.
“But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Add hero to her list.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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