Part of the Family
Leena John's story in full
Leena and her husband Kuldeep live in Navi Mumbai, or 'New Bombay'. They both work for Oasis India. Leena works as Volunteer Co-ordinator, and reflects on what makes Oasis India so distinctive.
My husband and I were asked to work for Oasis India in 2001, after we had completed a year's course at a bible school. We had heard a lecture from an Oasis worker during the year, so we said yes. It was scary not knowing what to expect. But we took a step of faith - we have found that God moved mountains in our life because of it.
Working for Oasis is like being part of a family. We are not from this area, so it was especially important to be accepted. Some years after we joined Oasis India, my husband went through a stomach sickness. He had to get an emergency operation. John Nonhebel, my boss, took us to a good hospital, and we even stayed in his home with him for 15 days because it was nearby. It really is a family. A spiritual welfare!
"We work with the poor and underprivileged. It's a hard area to work in. You feel the spiritual pressure. But God has brought us through with flying colours!"
The volunteer teams generally love India and are sad to leave. A group was leaving recently and I had a call from the driver, Henry, who was taking them to the airport. He said, "Leena, I think you need to speak to the team, I'm worried about them, they don't look happy at all." So I spoke to each one of them on the phone, and they were just so sad to be leaving. They leave with a heart to come back. Some fundraise for us when they return to the UK. It's a long way to come, but so many journey back. Oasis India believes in relationships that last for life.
We work with the poor and underprivileged. It's a hard area to work in. You feel the spiritual pressure. But God has brought us through with flying colours! Oasis is set apart from the other organisations here. We are so focused on inclusion. That isn't the case with other NGO's in this country. Every kind of person - people living with HIV/AIDS, people who are poor, people who going through terrible times or people who aren't, it doesn't matter - is in the family of Oasis. That's what makes us distinctive. It gives us a broader understanding of one another.
We have begun to encourage churches to get involved in social action. Oasis is all about integral mission - evangelism and practical, physical help. One of the ways in which we do that is through a disaster response committee, which my husband Kuldeep is part of. It's wonderful, because the churches are now empowered to get into social action. Oasis is in a unique position, because we can work across the different denominations. It has a great reputation in Mumbai.