Kelly Brake attended and spoke at a mission convention that we attended in Wasilla, Alaska. At the conference, we heard his incredible story firsthand. We decided to tell the story through the eyes of the lepers, so we could better describe how they felt through the experience. With the help of Kelly, we created a fictional family representing the colony. Below is a picture of Kelly and Pastor Vishera. As mentioned in the story, the leper community continued to give generously, despite their poverty. It is said you cannot outgive God. The Lord miraculously intervened by awakening a German man who knew Vishera. This German was not a wealthy man, yet he sent his nest egg which he had been saving for his retirement.
Kelly and the Pastor in India
As a result of this man’s obedience to God’s prompting, the lepers could stay on the land, and last we heard, they remain there to this day and with much nicer houses. Kelly reports that some of their kids have even attended college.
In telling this story, we did not want to portray our Heavenly Father as a divine vending machine. We didn’t want listeners to see giving as an easy means of enriching themselves. With that said, we read the following in Malachi 3:10 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Like earthly parents, our Heavenly Father loves giving good things to His kids. One thing that especially pleases Him is when we are generous towards others in need, and it would appear the generosity of the lepers caught the attention of Heaven!