Herschel with elderly man at Mother Teresa's.

Who | Herschel Rothchild

My Years on the Mission Field | My family (Christine, Christian, and Danielle) and I served in Nigeria for 2 years. During our time there I worked with street kids. I did not have any special experience that helped me, but God used my knowledge and my desire to serve Him to do many different things. I discipled and encouraged leaders in our ministry plus some of the older boys in the ministry. God also used my real estate background to help acquire more buildings and land for our growing ministry. God stretched me in many ways as we served the blind and the lepers. It was there that I learned we are all people and all anyone wants is to be treated with dignity and respect. The blind and the lepers we worked with want to be loved for who they are on the inside, not on the outside. I was even in charge of new construction for our ministry buildings and housing along with our farming initiatives. I had no previous experience with either, but God gave me some amazing Nigerian friends who worked with me and along side me to ensure things were done the right way.

Where I Have Traveled With Kingsland | I have led three teams back to Nigeria with Kingsland since we moved back home in 2006. I have also done mission work with Kingsland in Houston’s Third and Fourth wards as well as in Katy. I traveled to Israel with Kingsland and last summer I went on the High School mission trip to India.

What Touched Me Most in India | I loved going to the small village school where we cared for children. The school kids loved our students — and the feeling was truly mutual. We were all humbled as we visited each one of the school kids’ homes in groups of four or five to pray for them and their family. The families were happy to see us and excited that we would want to come into their home. I watched God stretch our students as we asked each one of them to take turns praying at different houses. We wanted them to lead and by doing that they learned a lot. On the third day our students wanted to prayer walk through the village. It was blazing hot and we were all sweaty but they just wanted to go pray. As we went we met a man whose arm was lame. He could not raise it up and he asked us to pray for healing. An Indian pastor led us as we all laid hands on him and prayed. The man was healed and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. There were several other healings and more people proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Savior. There were no Christians in the village prior to this day.

What I Appreciated Most About Our Students | I appreciated the willingness of our students to serve and to hear God. In addition to serving at the slum school we served every day at Mother Theresa’s Homes for the destitute and dying. There were some people there that looked way different than us and some that could not even talk … but our students just loved them. They did not let their appearance slow them down at all, they just wanted to serve. It was amazing to see their hearts and to watch them live out their faith. The youth of Kingsland served God well in India and I am so proud of them and the way they ministered to others and that they truly went beyond their comfort zone.

Where I Am Headed Next | I am headed to Uganda in June with the LaTorre family and their team. We will be serving at an orphanage where Dr. Cindy Anthis and others will help check all of the kids and start medical records for them and make sure they are given the vaccines they need. I will do whatever they need me to. The LaTorre’s also have a plan to buy land for the orphanage so they can become more self sufficient as they grow vegetables and raise cows, chickens, and more. I am so excited to go and do anything to help. I pray that God is glorified through our time going and our time in the country.

   Today my world changed as I visited Blind Town in Jos, Nigeria. As its name suggests, this little community is home to the blind, or at least to the poorest of the blind. But, it is also home to those who have leprosy. This little community is perched on rocky hills that descend to the litter-choked banks of a murky river flowing below. The streets are narrow and uneven, making walking a challenge for those with sight and an obstacle course for those without. The walls hemming in the streets are stained with green algae that fades into black as it creeps upward through the shadows. Little streams fed by human waste flow into each other as they wind down paths of least resistance to add their toxins to the filthy river below. The overpowering odors of human waste, rotting litter, and cooking fires hang heavy in the air. This is life at the bottom — life lived amidst the shards of something that only hints at kinship to human dignity.

   Today my world changed for the better as I met and touched a man with leprosy. To call him a leper somehow seems wrong. I feel as though using that awful designation will somehow make me an accomplice with the disease and consequently shave away one more thin slice of his remaining dignity. He is a man — a man whose once strong hands are now fingerless and whose feet have eroded to stubs. He is a man whose misshapen face betrays the presence of something he cannot control and that mercilessly beats him against the reefs of human mortality. Leprosy has already exacted a cruel toll on his dignity, robbing him of his appearance and the ability to care for himself. I embraced him and prayed for him because today he has a fever, just one more straw adding to the weight he struggles under every day.

   Today I touched a man with leprosy and, to my surprise, I was not afraid. Perhaps fear lost its grip when I saw the man’s very human eyes looking into my own. It’s interesting how a person’s eyes can speak. Looking into his eyes I wondered when was the last time he had felt a human embrace. Since wealth cannot restore what leprosy takes, I imagine that a human touch becomes the coveted currency of those conscripted into the unenviable ranks of the untouchables. Of course, I thought of Jesus who tenderly touched people with leprosy. I understand that a little better now — the significance of a human touch. Yes, I touched a man with leprosy. But I think that what really happened today is that a man with leprosy touched me.