December 15, 1997
Dear Loved Ones,
Christmas greetings to you in the name of Christ our King!
Phileena and I have just returned from our most recent trip to India. Our time there was as joyful as it was sad.
During our last week in Madras a little girl was brought to one of our homes for children. We believe this little girl was born and abandoned on the beach, because when she was found she was covered with blood and sand. She was brought to the police station and then to a hospital. An adoption agency was called but they wouldn't take her. Finally she found sanctuary in one of the Word Made Flesh children's homes. She was probably 3-4 weeks old when we received her into our family. Frail, weak, and sick this little girl had a large, fleshy sack of fluid on her back. The doctors told us it was fluid from the brain or spinal cord and she wasn't expected to live long. We named her Esther P. Noel… but she would never celebrate her first Christmas.
On December 9th I received this fax from Patrick Samuel, our Indian Director:
“Baby Esther has become the seventh cherubim to enter into the Holy Presence of the Lord Almighty as she peacefully passed into eternity at 8:00 p.m. last night (December 8). We were taken by surprise at her radiant smile just before breathing her last breath without any pain or discomfort. The smile on her face seemed to convey her gratitude for the service we have extended to her.”
While we were in India another little girl, this one 18 months old, joined our Word Made Flesh family. Suryakalla, HIV+, lost her mother to AIDS and her father is a sick and fatally ill victim of the same virus. Soon Suryakalla will be an orphan with a disease that will slowly take her life just as it has taken the life of her parents. Please keep her in your prayers, though she is still a baby she has experienced much pain and has much more to look forward to.
Our primary reason for this last visit to India was to teach a at Madras College of Evangelism. “Poverty Issues and the Church” was my first attempt at teaching. The consisted of 11 students representing 7 languages. The Lord really challenged Phileena and me as we worked through a Christian response to the poor. The director of the college has extended an invitation for Phileena and me to teach again next year. We look forward to helping build the church in India to minister among the poor.
Now we're back in the States for 4 months. We'll be doing a lot of speaking and teaching all over the country. Please keep us in your prayers, the travel can get grueling and the demands are sometimes overwhelming.
1998 will hold some exciting opportunities for Word Made Flesh. The mission will expand it's work from Madras to Calcutta, India; Bucharest, Romania; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Lima, Peru. Our responsibilities will increase as the ministry expands, pray that the Lord will give us insight and wisdom to help direct this movement.
We cannot thank you enough for holding us in your prayers. Many times throughout the year we have sensed the Spirit carrying us through difficult and trying times. Thank you for your constant support, love and encouragement. It's our prayer that the Lord would continue to have His way with us, that we might faithfully labor for the coming of the King in the lives of multitudes!
We're sorry it's been so long since you've last heard from us. We will try much harder to keep in touch with you in 1998. We also enjoy hearing from you so please write when you have the time and let us know how you're all doing.
Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
Merry Christmas,
Chris & Phileena Heuertz
P.S. Enclosed you will find a picture of Baby Esther Noel the day she arrived at the children's home, November 29, 1997. Please keep others like her in your prayers.