India Ministry

Rev. John Lunn's Ministry in India

John was at Zion on Saturday and Sunday, July 29th and 30th and he became a member of Zion, he preached, and he was commisoned for his next mission for the ELCA in Liberia. He was home over Labor Day weekend and is now in Liberia working as administrator of Phebe Hospital.	John was home for a week in late May for his mother Ione Lunn's memorial service.
John left India February 12th, 2006 and did some traveling and speaking for Global Missions in the next four months.	John was in Milaca for a week at the end of February and into March. He preached at Zion on Sunday, February 26th
	In 2005, John was home for a week's visit with his mother, Ione Lunn and spoke at worship services the weekend of June 11th and 12th, 2005. He gets a month of vacation each year and spent this year's time between Hawaii and New York City and Milaca. He'll be back in India July 1st to finish his final six months there before returning to the US.

A portion of the money from the last three Santa Lucia Luncheons went to Rev. John Lunn's ministry in Vellore India where John is helping to establish a hospice care department at the Christian Medical Center (CMC). He has assembled a team of doctors, nurses, a social worker, and chaplains to care for the dying patients who come to CMC, and gifts from Zion's LCW have provided some of the salary for Grace and Hamilton - the husband and wife chaplain team. This years's gift will pay for 30 patients to have abdominal drainage catheters which will make them much more comfortable and bring some peace to their final days.

Chaplains Grace and Hamilton are the proud parents of the newest member of the team - a little girl named Felina, born March 14th, 2005. Felina was baptized April 10th.

Grace and brand new baby Felina.

Felina is growing up!

	Grace (on the right) is talking with a patient at the Palliative Care Clinic at Christian Medical Center in Vellore India.
During a clinic visit, Hamilton (far right) meets with the patient (in white), a relative of the patient (in blue), and the doctor.

Last year's gift of money from the Santa Lucia Luncheon enabled a young man named Chithirai to be fitted with artificial limbs. Chithirai lost both legs when he was hit by a train. He had no money and was being cared for by Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity when Rev. John Lunn met him. The Sisters asked John to help them get a wheelchair for Chithirai so he would be able to get out and maybe find work. After talking with this young man, John thought he would be a good candidate for new legs and he decided to try to help him. The doctors at CMC agreed to do the necessary surgery and rehabilitation without charge, but Chithirai would need to have his new legs made. The Santa Lucia money was used to make those legs.

(Left) Chithirai with a visiting chaplain. He is entering rehab to be fitted with his new legs and begin the long and difficult task of learning to walk with them.

(Right) After weeks of rehab, Chithirai can walk with his new legs and a walker. He soon progressed to using two canes, then one cane.

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