Rejected by men, lifted up by God

Letra is assigned to the Nariva/Mayaro pastoral region, where she will be in charge of five churches spread across, Rio Claro, Mayaro and Biche. Letra served as a deaconess since 1994 before being called to serve as a minister.

Standing before the packed Susamachar Presbyterian Church, Coffee Street, San Fernando on Sunday, Letra gave an emotional speech of having to live with an impairment and conquering the odds in the end. In a touching testimony of life as a true follower of Jesus Christ she said:

"I was born with no toes on my right feet and as a result I walked with a terrible limp. Of course I was target of ridicule, as a result I preferred to stay indoors. But my mother Irene Jacob had faith that I would walk straight one day."

She spoke of her mother Irene who took her to several doctors in her efforts to seek medical help. Her mother gave up because she could not afford the doctors’ bills. However, Irene did not give up faith and one Sunday morning when Letra was seven years old, she held on to her daughter’s feet and prayed sincerely to the Lord asking him to save her daughter from the humiliation that she had to face every day.

"She prayed that I would walk straight and that I got up and walk about without the limp. My mother’s eyes were closed and the tears were streaming down. It was a sight I shall never forget. It was at that point in time that I felt lifted from this world and I knew something was happening to me," she told the attentive audience.

Letra saw a miracle that day when she was able to stretch her feet out onto the ground and balance her body standing straight for the first time. She started to walk slowly without the limp and she knew that Jesus had touched her life. From that day on little Letra became a true Christian attending church services regularly. Through the years she kept her Bible close to her and would read verses as a means of finding comfort when things went wrong in her life.

Letra attended the Monkey Town Government School before moving on to Barrackpore Junior Secondary.

In the course of her pastoral duties she spends much time in Mayaro where she observes that there is a growing congregation. She is also responsible or monitoring the smooth running of the churches’ administration and other duties.

Coming from an "extremely poor family" she was not exposed to much of life’s luxuries. "As a young person growing up in this rural district in Barrackpore, I had little to look forward to. Back then I looked forward only to the services and other events at the church," she confessed.

While the other teenage girls were involved in sporting activities, she could not join in because of her feet. Letra has been able to keep her condition a secret from her friends and church members throughout the country. In fact, when she started talking about her physical problem people were shocked at what she was saying.

"I believe that we must put our problems away from people so that you can communicate with people without having to be subjected to their pity," she said.

Letra likes to be well organised in everything she does. At home she organises her time for reading, writing and doing household chores.

"By doing this I am able to achieve more because I plan way in advance for everything that happens in life. I am also able to do my work with deeper concentration because of the planning and organising," she said.

If she had to live life all over again, she would not change a thing. "We all want the best in life but being close to God, the individual sees everything as being important. Everything has merit. By looking at it this way life becomes more meaningful," she said. She noted that there have been hard times in her life but Jesus always comes to her rescue.