We Call Her Mary Aunty

--Anita, daughter of T.P. Ruban, Tuticorin, India

In a mission planting --  Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu -- 61-year-old  Mary, who works as a receptionist at a music academy, was the first one to come out of the water after confessing Jesus as Lord. Since then, Mary is a woman on a mission. She lives alone, since her husband abandoned the family and her four children are all grown up now. She goes from house to house visiting other older women, praying with them from 10 am until she begins her workday at noon.  She has taken on the responsibility of leading the older women’s ministry. During the pandemic she helped her friend Shanthi to be saved. When the Zoom women’s day invitations were being shared, Mary happened to be at a local hospital, taking care of her daughter who needed a hysterectomy. She invited the entire ward; as a result 55 women got a chance to listen to the good news on Zoom. Four of these are learning about the gospel. Mary’s gratitude for her salvation and her zeal to share the good news is truly exemplary.

Anita and her husband Gopi run an Institute called "Master's Academy." They take classes and teach people how to speak in English. They visit schools and colleges. They came to Tuticorin in a mission team and stayed back and are leading the church now. Anita became a disciple in Chennai. She has a daughter, Priscilla, in the ninth grade. The Tuticorin church is celebrating its tenth-year anniversary in September 2022.