SOUTH ASIA (ANS) -- Kalem lived as a beggar and, tragically, a leprosy patient. His life as an outcast was filled with poverty and discrimination, but that changed when he met Pastor Paritosh.

Paritosh serves the Lord as a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary in South Asia. Eager to touch as many lives as he could, Paritosh decided to meet the lepers who lived near his village. He found 60 families affected by the disease and began reaching out to them one at a time.

When he met Kalem, he was filled with compassion and started talking to the man—but he got no response. Paritosh found that Kalem not only suffered from leprosy, but he was also mute. The 37-year-old man had never spoken a word in his life.

Paritosh started praying regularly for Kalem. After about a month, miraculously, the leprosy patient began communicating slowly. The Lord was mercifully healing him.

As Kalem’s relationship with Christ grew, so did his ability to speak. Kalem saw that Jesus was someone who cared for those considered the very least. This love was then tangibly demonstrated to Kalem when he received the gift of a weight scale from Pastor Paritosh. This gift enables him to earn his own money in the marketplace as people pay to weigh themselves or their purchases.

Today, Kalem rejoices with new hope thanks to the love of Christ and the compassion of His servants.