Imagine the closest hospital isn’t just an ambulance ride away from your home. It’s a trek that requires multiple days and a 12-hour car ride on bumpy roads.
This is the case for the Himalayan people, who live in some of the most remote villages in the world. Their remote location limits access to quality medical care, so when accidents happen that result in traumatic injuries, amputation is often the only possible course of action.
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International Mission Board workers Aaron and Sidney Barr are working to share the gospel with Himalayans and have a particular burden for serving people with disabilities. As they realized the challenges amputees in the villages faced, they wanted to find a way to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the Himalayan people.
Through generous donations from Southern Baptists who support healthcare projects, the Barrs received funding to begin working with a local licensed prosthetist who could help them care for those in need.
One of the first people they helped was the brother of a Himalayan believer. He has since helped connect them to more than 30 other people with disabilities. Each time the Barrs go with local believers to meet people in need of prosthetics, they have a chance to share the gospel and explain that the money for the medical care came from believers who love them.
‘Opened doors’
“Meeting physical needs has really opened doors and given us a way into the community,” Sidney said.
For example, Sanjay lost his arm over a decade ago in a work accident, and his prosthetic arm doesn’t allow him to grip or lift things. After Sidney and Aaron connected with him and offered help, he traveled many hours on a bus from his remote small town to meet with the prosthetist and be fitted for a new arm.
The new prosthetic will allow him to play with his kids and make his factory work easier, both of which he said he’s excited about.
In addition to connecting with people when they come to the city for prosthetic fittings, the prosthetics ministry has also helped the Barrs and their local partners connect with villagers when they make treks out to where the Himalayan people live.
During a recent trek, the village leaders asked Aaron and his partners to help the village shepherd, who had lost his fingers years earlier in an accident. They talked with the shepherd and shared the gospel, and he immediately responded in faith.
Aaron and the local believers were shocked. In the five years they had regularly been visiting the village and sharing the gospel, no one had ever believed. They repeated the gospel in two more languages common to the region to make sure the man understood.
“If I say I believe, I believe,” was the man’s simple response.
Pray for the Barrs and their local partners as they disciple this new Himalayan believer and continue to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the Himalayan people.
Names have been changed for security.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Stella McMillan and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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