By "Godincedence"

A good friend of mine recently said something to me in an email about coincidence. The following is a bit about what brought Jo and I to India, and the reply that I sent him in an Email. I realise that I don't think I've told this story on the Blog before, and it is an important tale to us.

I started using the term godincidences instead of coincidences when we were thinking of coming to India.

Jo and I were coming here on holiday, and a few weeks before we left the UK by "godincidence" someone spoke at our church about Lok Hospital. We therefore decided to fit a visit to the hospital into our holiday.

We were only in Thane for about 36 hours, but the only evening we spent there properly Dr Stephen (who runs the hospital) by "godincidence" had organised a meeting with about 15 local church leaders to discuss setting up an AIDS project

By "Godincedence" I had worked in an AIDS project in Chennai during the summer of 1998 as a medical student, and so I went to the meeting with Stephen.

So by "Godincidence" I was a few thousand miles away from home and part of the first meeting to discuss setting up the project that I am now attached to.

The first person in the UK that I spoke to about my thoughts of going to India longer term by "Godincidence" had just finished reading a book that had a chapter in it about a hospital in India, and he suggested that I read the book. By "Godincedence that chapter in that book was unbelievably about the same hospital that I had been to visit. (and now work in).

We then visited a Church we had never been to before to say goodbye to a friend of my sisters who was emigrating to Canada. By "Godincedence" a man there who We had never met stood up and prophesied that Jo and I would be going overseas on mission, and that after 18 months things would be starting to come together. By "Godincedence" 18 months later we were booking our flights.

Once we had decided to come for sure, a friend suggested we look for an organisation to help give us some support while we were in India. By "Godincedence" the first organisation we approached was EMMS (or Emmanuel Healthcare as they are now known), and by "Godincedence" the week before we saw them they had signed a cheque to pay for the construction of the AIDS project I now work in!!

I had always told Dr Stephen that I was most interested in the AIDS work here in India. However, when I arrived in India Dr. Stephen had still not told Andi who runs the project that I was coming. I was therefore a bit nervous the first time I visited the AIDS project. Incredibly, by "Godincedence" Andi and Sheba had decided that they needed another Doctor, and so they had prayed and asked God to provide someone within the next 30 days. 30 days later I walked through their door!

Yesterday I was having a game of pool with one of my friends who lives in the same apartment complex as us. He had recently been given a new job, and he asked me "do you believe in things happening for a reason?" I replied "I believe in God"! "That's a good answer" he said.

Adam