In 2012, Steve and I had a welcome dilemma. We’d received a check as a settlement with my brothers and me for our mother’s untimely death. We looked at the check and decided we would donate $15,000 to a charity she would have supported. We prayed for guidance in finding just the right project to honor my mother and God.
The day we received the check, we were at my 50th class reunion in Portland, Tennessee, and the next morning we headed north to our home in Northern Kentucky. I looked up churches and meeting times that might coincide with our trip. The one that seemed to work was Alvaton Church of Christ near Bowling Green, Kentucky. We’d get there in time for worship and it was on our route home.
As we entered the lobby, we were surprised to be greeted by David Dymacek, as old friend from our days in Illinois in the early 1970s. We were delighted to learn that he was an elder there and had been asked to speak that day. We always loved his preaching at the Four Seasons Church of Christ in Bloomington, Illinois.
The singing was great and we settled in to hear David’s plea for funds for a special project the elders were considering. He told about a preacher in India that he knew personally, V. Christian Rehabam, who simploy goes by “Rehabam.”
Rehabam travels through his state in India, preaching the Word. As people come to hear him under a tree, they come to know Jesus and are baptized into Christ. He continues to meet with them, and then trains one of their men to be a preacher for the group when he isn’t there. Once a small group of Christians is established, he goes on to another village and starts again.
Once a month, he has all the preachers come to him in Andhra for Bible learning and preacher training. His most recent newsletter tells about 225 preachers present despite the heavy rains. David’s plea to the congregation was that each of those village churches needs a building in which to meet, especially in rainy season. A Bowling Green family had donated the funds to build a building in memory of their son. That day, the Alvaton church was having a special contribution to raise $15,000 to build a church in one of those villages.
Steve and I looked at each other in astonishment. My mother had had a great interest in missions and would love being a part of this project! We could not believe our prayers had been answered so quickly.
After church, we talked to David about it and he gave us Rehabam’s contact information. The other startling news was that Rehabam would be at a church in Northern Kentucky the next Sunday! I couldn’t believe it could all come together so well, since we really wanted to meet the person to whom we were giving money.
The next Sunday afternoon, we met Rehabam at the Florence Church of Christ in Florence, Kentucky. He was a slightly built gentleman in a brown suit with good English skills and a kind manner about him. We talked about his work and he was very excited about the possibility of a new building in honor of my mother. Before we left, we gave him a check for $15,000!
God is truly amazing! My mother, Mary Ralph Bradley, died in 2009 and this was almost three years later. We hadn’t seen David in over 30 years. We had never even heard of the Alvaton Church of Christ or Rehabam. Rehabam only comes to the states every few years, and we did not know the Florence church sponsored him.
After the church was built at Brahmana Gudem, India, Rehabam invited us to come to the “grand opening.” We declined, feeling that that money could be better used toward his ministry. He sent pictures and one is below, as is a current picture of Rehabam. What a glorious tribute to a woman of faith and to how the Holy Spirit works in our lives!

The Brahmana Gudem Church at their new church building

Rehabam speaks to the August Preachers Lectureship on August 18, 2023






Toni Daniels
How beautiful. God works in mysterious ways.
Charlotte Weiss
We had not been aware of this wonderful honor for your mom! The Lord truly works in mysterious ways. A great story with too many “happenings “ to be a coincidence.