Helen Mary's Miracle Story

A young Indian Christian woman pursuing Bible translation stands as a testimony of God's empowering touch.

Humanly speaking, she shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be at the Word For All (WFA) training in Nasik, studying linguistics in preparation to help translate God's Word for one of India's tribal groups. If you'd have believed the doctors when she was a youngster, Helen Mary shouldn't even be talking.

But through one miracle after another, God has brought this 25-year-old to His special place for her—despite the seemingly great odds against it.

"If He has given me the ability to come this far," the young woman says humbly but confidently, "He will also give me the ability to face the challenges that are ahead of me. And I know there will be challenges, but I'm ready to face that and be an overcomer."

Handicapped from Birth
Helen was born into a Christian family in the southern India state of Kerala. She had a severe cleft palette and lip deformity.

"My doctor said I would never talk," she says. "People said it would be better for me to die because it would be very difficult to bring up such a child, even if she lives."

Until she was 16, Helen didn't have the ability to learn on her own. Her grandmother took her to school every day. While Helen lay in a bed in the classroom, her grandmother took notes from the lessons, which she then used to teach her again back home.

Helen's grandfather paid for three surgeries on her mouth, but even by Grade 10, she was not able to speak properly.

"Even if I said something, nobody would ever understand."

Plans Paralyzed
Still, Helen's intention was to study hard, become a lawyer and look after her family, including her mother and older sister. She continued on to pre-university studies. However, while at school she fell down a staircase, which left her partially paralyzed and unconscious.

Lying in a hospital bed, unable to open her eyes, she could only hear what visitors were saying: Oh, it's so sad to see this, and when this girl was young she had problems, and now, when she is bigger, she has even more problems.

"Even though people were praying for me," says Helen, "I had the feeling, 'Why was I born this way?' I started hating myself."

Helen prayed to God that if she had to live in such a state, she would rather die the next day. The Lord answered her.

That night, Helen heard angelic-like voices explaining that they were caring for her—and she had visions.

"I saw a cross and on that cross, blood was coming out and happened to fall on my eyes," she recalls. "Right after this vision, I saw another vision. A person, similar to Jesus in appearance, came to me and took off the blanket that was used to cover my body."

Helen woke up the next morning, picked up the Gideon's Bible by her bedside and read, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness. . . . " She got up on her own and ran to her doctor's office, telling him she was healed. She wanted to be discharged.

After arguing about it, the doctor reluctantly agreed to release her, telling her, "If you come back with this illness again, I will not admit you again."

Helen returned home to her astonished family.