Before she experienced the hope of Jesus, Sati had endured five long years of crippling illness and pain. When Pastor Raj visited her home in Fiji to pray for her, Sati had lost all hope of recovery. She asked him to pray that she would die so that she could be free from agony. Instead, she experienced freedom and hope beyond her greatest expectations.

Throughout five years of debilitating illness, Sati sought out endless treatments and spent over 8,000 Fijian dollars in medical expenses. She had a very limited diet and lived in constant pain, which restricted her to the four walls of her home. With no answers from her doctors and her condition deteriorating, she allowed a woman who lived in the neighbourhood to come into her home and pray for her. For the first time, Sati says she started to feel slightly better.

“After two days of praying, the woman asked if she could bring her pastor,” Sati said.

This pastor would not be the first person to pray over Sati. Having practiced Hinduism throughout her life, Sati believed that all religion was connected. In her desperation, she had asked leaders of several religions to pray that her spirit would leave her body so she could escape the pain she was experiencing.

When Pastor Raj arrived at her home the next morning, she asked him the same question she had asked the others. 

“Can you pray to Jesus and ask for my spirit to depart?”

But Pastor Raj assured her that there was hope for healing. He poured her a glass of water and prayed over it that she may be healed. As Pastor Raj and the woman who had visited the previous day sang songs and prayed over her, Sati slowly and painfully attempted to drink the water.

To her surprise, Sati slept well that night, and the next morning Pastor Raj and the woman returned to her house to pray. The following day she started to feel hungry, and she asked her daughter if she could have some roti and vegetables to eat. She was amazed that she was able to finish her food, and that her health continued to improve.

Within a few days, Sati was walking without help and had regained enough freedom to use the washroom on her own. She was overjoyed with her progress, and when Pastor Raj returned to ask how she was doing, Sati joyfully responded that she was “very well”.

Eventually, Sati’s body was miraculously restored to its former health. She was free from debilitating pain, and able to eat and move freely. Alongside Sati’s physical healing came a wave of spiritual hope and restoration. God’s miraculous healing and Pastor Raj’s commitment to visiting and ministering to Sati meant that at 69 years of age, she no longer wanted to die. Instead, she turned her life to Jesus and accepted the hope of a new, eternal life with Him.

With Sati’s blessing, Pastor Raj collected her Hindu idols and threw them away. With her newfound health and purpose, she started catching a bus to her local church – the Vuci Road Church of Christ, led by Pastor Raj – where she still worships each Sunday. 

Without local ministries and pastors to undertake home visits, men and women like Sati may never experience the transformative hope of the gospel. For thousands of people who are restricted to their homes in remote communities due to illness or injury, access to Christian ministries could have a profound impact not only on their hope to live, but also their eternal salvation.

This Good Friday, you can tangibly share the hope of the gospel with people like Sati by taking part in Walk for Hope. By walking one, five or even ten kilometres to church and raising money from family and friends, you can give people in remote communities the opportunity to access life changing Christian ministries, or fund local pastors to visit people’s homes to pray for them and share the gospel with those who may never otherwise hear it.

Sati’s story is miraculous, but with your help, her story of hope could be shared by thousands more – and it’s a hope worth walking for.