My friend Ankur (aka Teddy) is a pastor in India. We have a kajillion friends in common across this big beautiful ecumenical world that is the global church. Ankur is also the first autistic pastor in his denomination. He has a heart of gold and prays for his friends all over, even when he is struggling.

Ankur's dad is also a pastor. The way that their denomination works is that they are "contracted" to the church after theological studies, and they must work a min. of 10 years or until their theological studies are paid off. In the meantime, they earn a stipend of approximately 25% of the cost of living to work full time + in service of the church.

Many of you know that Ankur's dad was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. After their family scraping together enough for the initial surgery, there were complications that landed his dad in the ICU for a long time. And the daily cost of ICU was 4x the initial estimated cost of his cancer treatments. There is no insurance or benefits to cover any of this.

The total cost so far to their family is the equivalent of about $15,000 US, and that could double before they are out of the woods. They have spent their entire savings as a family - the equivalent of about $7000.

This week, Ankur's dad was sent home from the hospital. Ankur posted this on social media on November 11:

"We’re bringing Papa home. We’re bringing Papa home after 29 days of hospitalization in the Critical Care ICU for Colorectal and Liver Cancer Treatment. It’s not the joyful, healthy homecoming we had hoped for, but we’re no longer able to cover things further and Doctors have forced us to leave. We’ve exhausted every means, yet our faith and prayers remain unshaken. The pain he’s enduring from the surgery and the tubes connected to him is beyond words. It’s heart-wrenching to watch, especially since we’ll need to provide isolation care in a home that’s shared by all of us. Despite this challenge, we’re preparing a space for him and will do all we can to care for him here.

The harsh reality of Indian hospitals is also weighing on us—without clearing dues, we can’t even access ambulance or wheelchair services. It’s deeply frustrating and, honestly, infuriating.

Please continue to lift us up in your prayers, especially for Papa’s healing and for Mom’s strength. We’re all worn down from sleepless nights, crying through both pain and frustration. Yet, we’re holding on.

To those of you who have contributed or shared the campaign, thank you from the depths of our hearts. We are grateful beyond words, but we’re still far from reaching our goal. If you haven’t yet, please consider contributing and copying the GoFundMe link and share it with your contacts. We’re facing an urgent need to cover these expenses.

My mind feels shut down; I feel like I want to do so much more but feel utterly helpless. In times like this, I wish there were a support system for pastors in need of medical assistance. This is a disheartening reality, but your love and prayers are carrying us through.

Thank you so much for standing by us and allowing us to feel safe with you.

Friends - even if you don't know Ankur, I beg you to help me help them.

Likely $30,000 won't even cover their total expenses, but it's what I've committed to raising. I'm almost 10% of the way there. I have over 2,000 Facebook friends. If everyone just gave $15, I could help him keep his family securely housed, and make sure his dad continues to get the critical medical attention he needs. This is an emergency situation.

Please give whatever you can to help these servants of God.

Will you join me?