Lisa Barry: Imagine you're putting on a feast at your home. Possibly there's a long table with a huge turkey in the center, and every invited guest is seated and dressed in finery. Now imagine how you would you feel if a bunch of hoodlums showed up expecting to eat. We'd be shocked and appalled.

But today on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot is going to tell us about an entirely different kind of feast, because in India, the Dohnavur Fellowship puts on a feast for the invited and the uninvited guests. And the invited guests are lepers. It's an amazing tale of ministering to the despised and rejected. Here's Elisabeth to get us started.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, telling another Christmas story today. This one has a very strange title. It's called "The Feast of the Invited and the Uninvited."

I told you yesterday a little bit about the Dohnavur Fellowship, founded in South India by a woman named Amy Carmichael. Amy Carmichael has been a spiritual mother to me. I've read many of her books and I have written a biography about her called A CHANCE TO DIE. Many of you have read those books and know about Amy Carmichael, but you don't know what is still going on over there. Her work is still going on very wonderfully well.

Well, what about this feast of the uninvited? Each year, right about Christmastime, the Dohnavur people have a feast for the leprosy patients-those who have that terrible disease of leprosy. I'm going to read the story written by one of the staff women at Dohnavur. I remember meeting her when my husband I were back there in 1984, I think it was. Of course, she is a fine example of a Christian woman. She writes about this feast of the uninvited.

"It's the highlight of the year for the leprosy patients. Doubts arose this year as to how many people would arrive, as with the new system of treatment the government holds many clinics nearby for those who suffer from leprosy. Multi-drug treatment is now used as well, which, as it is stopped after two years, means that patients stop coming to the hospital after that.

Also, it had rained heavily for some days, and this meant that many of the poor people are not able to walk the long distance to us, bandaged feet and the deep mud being the main problem. And access to buses is sometimes denied to such patients." In other words, the bus drivers will not always let the leprosy patients get on the bus.

"However, prayerfully we made preparations for the feast. This year we did not have the help of Navim, who was one of the men helpers, who normally took most of the responsibility for the feast, as he went to be with the Lord in March." That means he died.

"Two of our other brothers took charge, and all the preparations were well done. The cooks arrived in time and the area was decorated. The previous evening, all the vegetables and rice had arrived. Our employees started to carry water to fill the drums, which were half full when the Lord sent heavy rain, which helped them to finish the job." Wasn't that wonderful? Sudden rainfall helped them to finish filling up the drums.

"As always, the cooking began with prayer, and then they worked hard through the night. Early in the morning, it was so nice to see the fire with pots of deliciously smelling curry and vegetables, sure to give anyone a good appetite. The patients started to arrive, and along with them came a number of uninvited guests-poor people who were keen to seize the opportunity of a free meal and whom we did not want to turn away.

By 9:00 in the morning, there were over 100 people. The music started. Everyone gathered together for prayer. The choir sang two songs and the speaker spoke from the Word of God. 'What do you want?' was his theme. All listened intently and earnestly. People could easily understand the simple but clear message.

After the meeting, the tasty food was served. About 180 people ate to their hearts' content and were satisfied. Those who wished were able to fill their vessels to take food home for those who had not come. As usual, the remainder was given to the cooks and employees. Praise God for the provision of money, personnel and strength given to serve Him in this way, and for the joy of those poor patients. They are some of the poorest because of their disease. Praise for God's control over the weather. It didn't rain on the day itself. And for all the help given to the brothers who did this for the first time without the one brother who had been their leader who had died."

That's the feast of the uninvited.

Lisa Barry: What an amazing legacy Amy Carmichael has left for us in the Dohnavur Fellowship. And it doesn't stop there, because Amy has written a number of books. And although many of them are no longer in print, we do have five that we've put together in a special AMY CARMICHAEL PACKET. And wouldn't that make a great gift for someone you know?

Another gift-giving idea is our special anniversary edition of the book, GATEWAY TO JOY: REFLECTIONS THAT DRAW US NEARER TO GOD.

For information on either of these gift offers, write to us at Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. You can also order through our on-line resource center at gatewaytojoy.org. Today's program has been a production of Back to the Bible.

There's more to learn about the Dohnavur fellowship tomorrow, so I hope you'll join us then for another Gateway to Joy.