Switch off

Now here's a secret of dad revealed. We were talking about Covid spreading across... the delay in vaccine, the increasing spread, mutation of the virus, all sounded grim... and since we don't have a TV, my better half was constantly on the phone and updating us every 5 mins..
Dad said, he always has a fortress around him, and he wont let anything come inside. I asked what? In other words he said, this is what is meant by 'switch off'.

This was taught by a Nigerian missionary, Michael. He and his wife from Satangulam and Nagercoil, were professors in Palyamkotai College. They were friends of Patrick uncle too.. They started the Reunion fellowship there.

While working there as professors, he had a burden to serve among the cannibals. They left their job and went as missionary to Nigeria. Being a muslim country, no christian missionaries were allowed inside the country. Just then the Educational minister there, looking at both of their education, told they can become DO there.  Thus both of them started working and slowly all the teachers under him, accepted Christ.

Then, with 7 of the teachers with him, he went to climb the mountains. He was wearing a thick coat, for it was very cold weather. On the way top, they stopped at night , in the morning he found no one. All the 7 had left.  Should he also turn back? The cannibals were real!. He decided to press forward. he meets a bunch of them with sharp weapons. They surround him. He kneels down and shuts his eyes and prays. After sometime, he opens his eyes to see all of them prostrating down before him! They must have seen some vision? may be an angel? They take him to their leader.. They give him a rooster to be given to their tribe leader.. The Leader in turns gives a rooster to the missionary. They exchange the roosters! And he stays with them learning their language. In 3 months, he learns it! It is told their language has only 100 or so tones/words... he records, and learns it. He slowly starts teaching kids and the adults. He opens a school for them. The President of Nigeria comes to know of it, and even visits the place. Who wouldn't want to see the transformations among cannibals!

The couple have a daughter, who finished her MBBS and continued as a doctor there. They both earned well, being DEOs, but as per the rule in Nigera, they were not allowed to take money out of the country. So they left it to their daughter.

He had travelled  in train with dad sometime back. That's when he taught this trick. The secret weapon. If someone is talking ill about you, you can just switch off your mind and do not let it process in your mind.. to find out more about it..who said it, or who heard it or what will they think about it. Dad said, he just prays and hands over the issue to God, and then switches off his mind. He is completely off, and never thinks or brings it up and even lets the person who brings it again, not to bother.  That's the end of it! If you can't do anything about it, why munch on it?

Knowing dad, I have seen him do this quite often! It has imbibed in me too... but now I know the name of the secret! haha!