The Christadelphian Shunem Home is a delightful place, cool and shady in a hot and dusty land. It is home to 60+ schoolgirls and 15+ elders. I feel as if the elders who live at Shunem are my communal aunts and uncles. I have so much affection for them. When we lived in the city for a few years I would spend a lot of my afternoons in their company, on the shady verandah, drinking tea and catching up with their news.

I'm pretty sure when Jesus went out into the wilderness it was to escape from endless noise. The chatter, the marketplace clamor, dogs barking, small children wailing, rent collectors banging on the front door and pharisees making self-serving loud prayers. The same could describe a regular day here in Hyderabad. Walking down the stairs from the rooftop laundry back to our apartment I'm right there with our Lord in the pages of the New Testament.

Writing about our visits to the leprosy colonies and the leprosy street projects is tricky. How to not sound all humble bumble with the good works of going round visiting and trying to find out all the ways in which folk need help. I imagine it was a trial for Mother Teresa.... When we were reviewing and editing all the video footage that was to go into the final cut of a short film, there was classic minute of me sitting hunkered down on the ground talking with an elderly lady.

So, a rat ate my coconut chips. I walked into our room and switched on the light and there he was on the floor by the bed, munching. We stared at each other for a second before he shot like a dart into a hole at the bottom of the wardrobe. I was left with the shreds of tinfoil from the wrapper that he had chewed off and a half eaten bag of desiccated fruit.

Here in the grounds of the leper colony at Darsarapalli a recent structural addition is a large covered verandah where residents can sit outside in the shade. The temperatures soar up into the high 40s here in the high hills and the summers are pretty intense. A small team looks after the patients and ensures that everyone stays as well as possible. Hyderabad ecclesia supports Darsarapalli with regular visits and Sunday breaking of bread meetings. 

Talking about the terrible traffic in Indian cities is the cue for an eye roll, inevitable cliches and stale stories. But honestly! The urge to regale friends with tales from the streets is irresistible. So I'm sorry, but buckle up! Transport is a thrill. The city roads are more Grand Theft Auto than Driving Miss Daisy. The taxi in front has a decal that reads 'my cab is safe' - says who? Not his passengers I’m guessing as he hurtles recklessly by.

Missionaries have been coming to India since Thomas - he of doubting fame - alighted from the sailboat when it docked way down south on the coast in Kerala. Singlehandedly he came, bringing the gospel message at a sprightly step up the beach to reach the masses in AD 52.