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B y R a j K o s a r a j u

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Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of the archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says, ‘I cannot stand anymore.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. God has a greater plan. While He does not always show us the details, we can know the big picture—we are in His loving hands.

Mother Teresa-AMoment of Truth

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Mother Teresa said “I realized that I had the call to take care of the sick and the dying, the

hungry, the naked, the homeless - to be God's Love in action to the poorest of the poor.” That

was the beginning of the Missionaries of Charity.

She didn't hesitate, she didn't question. She asked permission to leave the Loreto congregation

and to establish a new order of sisters. She received that permission from Pope Pius XII. In 1952

Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity began the work for which they have been noted

ever since. Her order received permission from Calcutta officials to use a portion of the

abandoned temple of Kali, the Hindu goddess of transition and destroyer of demons. Mother

Teresa founded here the Kalighat Home for the Dying, which she named Nirmal Hriday

(meaning "Pure Heart"). She and her fellow nuns gathered dying people off the streets of

Calcutta and brought them to this home to care for them during the days before they died.

Mother Teresa's first orphanage was started in 1953, while in 1957 she and her Missionaries of

Charity began working with lepers. In the years following, her homes (she called them

"tabernacles") have been established in hundreds of locations in the world.

A Movement Begins

Teresa was not alone for long. Within a year, she found more help than she anticipated. Many

seemed to have been waiting for her example to open their own floodgates of charity and

compassion. Young women came to volunteer their services and later became the core of her

Missionaries of Charity. Others offered food, clothing, and the use of buildings, medical supplies

and money. As support and assistance mushroomed, more and more services became possible to

huge numbers of suffering people.

From their birth in Calcutta, nourished by the faith, compassion and commitment of Mother

Teresa, the Missionaries of Charity have grown like the mustard seed of the Scriptures. New

vocations continue to come from all parts of the world, serving those in great need wherever they

are found. Homes for the dying, refuges for the care and teaching of orphans and abandoned

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children, treatment centers and hospitals for those suffering from leprosy, centers and refuges for

alcoholics, the aged and street people the list is endless.

Throughout my education from school to graduate college, I studied in a convent and was

exposed to Christian missionaries and to their discipline and teachings. I liked the discipline of

the nuns and the symbol of Jesus on the cross. But beyond that, I considered Christians belonged

to one of the many religions and Christianity was one of them. I always thought that Hinduism

was the greatest religion and everything else was secondary. I saw for the first time in my school

they screened a movie which showed about Mother Teresa and her work. I was excited and also

very sad as I watched the movie. I saw how people were suffering. I saw them in thousands. I

was too young to know about poverty. I saw because of poverty they were suffering. I also saw

people dying. I saw leprosy victims all around. Blood was oozing from their wounds. They were

separated from their homes and Mother Teresa was nursing them along with sisters from the

Missionaries of Charity. It was very pathetic to watch the realities of life.

Oswald Chambers writes:

Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the

hands of the archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and

strains, and every now and again the saint says, ‘I cannot stand anymore.' God does not heed, He

goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands.

God has a greater plan. While He does not always show us the details, we can know the big

picture—we are in His loving hands.

This was in October I996, and we came to know of Mother Teresa’s deteriorating health. I was

very familiar with Mother Teresa since I first saw her in a documentary in 1973 in Calcutta. I

was in my 6th Grade in St. Lawrence High School when we moved from Madras to Calcutta.

That was the first time in my life that I stole money from my Late Father’s Pockets because we

were given very little allowance as pocket money. I wanted to help the Missionaries of Charity. I

wanted to give the highest money offering to them. We were given Collection cards from

everyone and I filled every card that I had and gave all the money. I told my Dad everything and

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received scoldings and also spankings for having stolen money to give it to a charitable

institution. Ever since that day Mother Teresa had a very special place in my heart.

A Moment of Truth:

The year was rapidly ending and now she was very ill. I strongly felt we need to do something

for her. We decided to help. We started with prayer teams and spread the news of her health. We

gathered about 80,000 prayer cards from schools and colleges and everyone that we came across.

We decided we will go to Calcutta. We flew to Calcutta with all the cards, donations of

medicines, get well prayer cards, Scriptures etc. We reached Calcutta and visited her. Admission

to the hospital was very restricted, she was on medication. We prayed and came to her house

which was in the Missionaries of Charity. We prayed and left all the collections and things in her

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tiny room with one cot and chair. Many things we can learn from her. She dedicated her life for

Jesus. She came to serve the millions of poor and destitute people many of whom are leprosy

victims. She realized that she had the call to take care of the sick and the dying, the hungry, the

naked, the homeless - to be God's Love in action to the poorest of the poor.

The source of true patience is the Spirit of God. His patience toward us allows us the opportunity

to grow and to become more like Him. He does not give up on us. When we are stubborn and fail

to learn what God wants to teach us, He continues to demonstrate His patience. Mother Teresa

was a young girl Gnocchi (Agnes) from Skopje, Yugoslavia thousands of miles away from her

home receiving her calling to serve the poor in Calcutta. Thinking about the Mother and how

precious her life was to the millions of people of Calcutta. We went to the hospital to pray before

we left. We prayed. We then returned to Hyderabad.

It was in January of 1997 when we received a letter. It was written by Mother Teresa herself. She

thanked everyone who prayed for her, and the way she was healed by Jesus. It was a miracle.

She was given the Master’s touch. She said that we should always serve like how Jesus did.

What a powerful testimony. On September 5th she went to be with the Lord. I was in Latin

America and saw the news when she left for her heavenly abode.

Until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa continued her work among the poorest of the poor,

depending on God for all of her needs. Honors too numerous to mention had come her way

throughout the years, as the world stood astounded by her care for those usually deemed of little

value. In her own eyes she was "God's pencil—a tiny bit of pencil with which he writes what he

likes."

Despite years of strenuous physical, emotional and spiritual work, Mother Teresa seemed

unstoppable. Though frail and bent, with numerous ailments, she always returned to her work, to

those who received her compassionate care for more than 50 years. Only months before her

death, when she became too weak to manage the administrative work, she relinquished the

position of head of her Missionaries of Charity. She knew the work would go on.

If we live, we live to the Lord: and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we

belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8 New International Version)

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One of the incredible realizations we can have as Christians is that our relationship with the Lord

can be eternal. As long as we seek after him, he is always there and no one can separate us from

his love. Even when we die, we go to be with the Lord. When we sleep in death, we are still "in

the Lord." Everything we have on earth is temporary except our love for the Lord Jesus and

those with whom we share that love!

What matters most to your identity is not how the world sees you, how your friends see you, or

even how you see yourself. What matters most is how God sees you. Spend time in God's Word

learning about His everlasting love for you. Form your identity in Christ. Understand who you

are from God's viewpoint because if you are not sure of your identity or if your identity is not

firmly rooted in God, and then you will be easily swayed and discouraged by what other people

say about you.

Finally, on September 5, 1997, after finishing her dinner and prayers, her weakened heart gave

her back to the God who was the very center of her life.

Remembering Mother Teresa on her Birthday on the 27 th of August. May she be eternal and be

with Lord Jesus Christ in glory forever. Amen.

In Jesus Name

Servant of the Lord

Raj Kosaraju

Raj Kosaraju is an Alumnus of Haggai Institute, Hawaii. Raj has an immense interest in

Missions and Evangelism. He is grateful to the entire faculty who shaped him in his Global

Evangelism and Great Commission outlook.