Helen Mary's Miracle Story (continued)

Through Christ
"That night after reaching home," she says, "I made the decision that for the remainder of my life on the face of this earth, I will commit myself for service and the work of God—not to secular work."

"When I submitted myself to the work of the Lord, I started speaking [well]."

Despite family concerns about her health, Helen enrolled in Faith Theological Seminary in Kerala. She experienced periodic bleeding in her mouth, discovered to be from teeth growing out of her repaired palette. After more surgery, Helen returned to her studies, despite resulting pain and infection that made it difficult to eat and concentrate.

"During that time, the verse, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. . . .' used to come to mind. I prayed claiming that verse, and that was a strengthening factor during those days."

In three years, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in theology, ranked first in her class. She returned home, served in a slum ministry, and worked on her master's degree by correspondence.

It was in seminary that Helen heard about Bible translation through a WFA vision-builder promotional event. "The vision and calling that God gave me through the promotional event was specifically for Bible translation."

In May 2006, she attended another WFA promotional meeting and discovered for the first time that translation-training courses were offered in Nasik. Wanting to follow through on her calling, Helen decided to pursue studies there. In June, she visited one WFA language project, an experience that confirmed her desire to work in Bible translation.

Family Opposition
While her mother and sister were supportive of Helen's plans, extended family members were completely opposed. The night before she wanted to travel to Nasik, they confronted her, explaining that they planned to marry her to a young man, with no similar passion for ministry.

"I knew that if I'm going to get married to this person, it's going to stop me from my involvement in Bible translation."

Helen literally ran away, dodging her family by catching a different train than previously planned. She began studies with WFA in mid-September, 2006.

It hasn't been easy. Just four months before arriving, she had more mouth surgery. She couldn't pronounce various sounds of speech in her phonetics class, but was given a pass until a second oral exam, where she got the best marks.

"Something that was impossible became possible through God, and that's what I'm seeing and experiencing here," Helen says. "My whole life has changed."

Helen is excited about the future, looking forward to serving in one of WFA's projects after her studies.

"To whichever field God is leading me, I'm ready to go there. I'm ready to serve the Lord through Bible translation."