The pain of loss and heartbreak
Mike Wakely
I have been married for 53 years, a happy and fulfilling life in partnership with a wonderful lady from Sweden. I met her on a summer Christian mission in France in 1967. We were going door to door selling Christian books and sharing the gospel. We were married in Sweden in April 1972, our name and the date of our marriage engraved on our simple gold wedding rings.
My wife fell ill in 2022 and commenced a slow decline in health both in body and mind. I became her full-time carer. We had made our vows “in sickness and in health” and it was my privilege to look after her, learning new skills in shopping, cooking, gardening, cleaning and many other household chores. The specialists and nurses of the NHS were superb. We installed a stair lift and I bought a bath lift, but she became weaker until one day (on my birthday) she fell and broke her leg. It led to five weeks in hospital and she finally died on 7 October 2025.
Pakistan’s little-known Christian story
Mike Wakely
In a small town in western Punjab, now in northern Pakistan, there lived a Hindu from a caste of farmers. His name was Nattu Lal. He heard the gospel, put his faith in Christ and was baptised in November 1872.
Nattu was the son of the head man in his village. His family was wealthy, but Nattu wasted his money and proved himself to be a poor Christian witness. But he did one thing that was of immense importance. He brought a poor man called Ditt to faith in Jesus.
‘If you really want to help us …’
Mike Wakely
A Pakistani Christian leader called Ashley said to me 21 years ago: ‘Mike, if you really want to help our community, help us educate our children.’
What a challenge for me – especially after many years committed to evangelism in South Asia with Operation Mobilisation. We are deeply grateful for the spiritual foundations in discipleship and leadership formed in those years, which continue to inspire us.