Sara denBok has been telling a story of salvation.
Since penning Saved by Mother Teresa last year, the Collingwood woman has had more than 40 speaking engagements and has sold more than 1,000 copies of the booklet that tells the story of how she was rescued from the streets of India at the age of three.
A police officer found her wandering the streets of Calcutta. She was alone and had open wounds on her head, possibly from a dog attack. The officer took her to Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, an orphanage operated by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Order.
DenBok said she has no knowledge of her birth parents and does not know why she was abandoned to the streets.
In 1975, at the age of five, denBok was adopted by Eldon and Audrey Bell, of Stayner. DenBok said, to her knowledge, she is the first and only child at the orphanage to be adopted and brought to Canada.
The Bells were visiting the orphanage with friends who were missionaries.
“At that time there were 93 orphans there, including me,” writes denBok in the book. “This was when I first met my soon-to-be adoptive parents. At the time, they were 48 years old, had three children, and had no intention of having any more. I, apparently, had other plans for them. For no sooner did they walk into the orphanage, then, I am told, I made a beeline straight towards the man who, in less than a year’s time would be my dad, and clung to his leg. This happened again when they returned for a second visit.”
DenBok, now 44, has no memory of any of it, of any part of her life before the age of seven.
She said it’s likely she repressed all of the memories because it was all too traumatic.
Her first memory is of becoming a Christian while attending summer camp at Stayner Missionary Campgrounds.
She does not remember having met Mother Teresa as a child but she was able to visit with her on a return visit to the orphanage, with her husband Tim, in 1994.
DenBok said she was nervous about going back to India, fearing some of those repressed memories would surface.
Once there, she had a wonderful experience with the highlight being her time with Mother Teresa. DenBok said it was difficult to understand what she was saying because of her strong accent.
“But as she held both of my hands lovingly in hers, I heard her distinctly say several times, ‘The family that prays together stays together.’ I will never forget the touch of her hands. They were as soft as velvet. Her presence exuded peace and love. It was a feeling that I have never since experienced to such a degree. It made me think of how those in Jesus’ presence must have felt,” writes denBok.
She said she attempts to bring into her work as a developmental service worker, caring mostly for the elderly, the spirit of Mother Teresa.
DenBok said she decided to put her story on paper in tribute to Mother Teresa, as a legacy for her children and as a dedication to her parents. The speaking engagements also aim to educate people, especially children, about the work of the famous Catholic nun, who died in 1997 at the age of 87.
She will be the guest speaker at New Lowell United Church on Sunday, Jan. 11, during a special service beginning at 9:45 a.m. The booklet sells for $2 at the Collingwood Public Library.