WHEN Lieutenant Zochhuansangi received a diagnosis of breast cancer in January 2020, she took temporary leave from Behliangchhip Corps (church) of which, with her husband, she was a corps officer. From this rural village in the Jampui Hills, not far from the Bangladesh border, she began her journey to recovery on the other side of India. Little did they know of the events that were to unfold over the coming months, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country and around the world. Lieutenant Zochhuansangi shares her story:
In January of 2020, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. I wasn’t shocked and felt at peace in God’s grace, but it was the thought of leaving my one-year-old son that weighed me down. My husband and I embarked on the 3,000-kilometre cross-country journey from our community in Tripura to the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. During our time in Mumbai, I faced tears and challenges throughout the treatment. In spite of this and the painful separation from our son, God’s might, love and power was revealed to me again. Right from the beginning I was greatly blessed by the help, love and care extended by our leaders in the India Eastern Territory, as well as our friends and our family. I praised God for the love that I received through them. I was at peace.
While receiving hospital treatment for the cancer, I contracted COVID-19. This was a very difficult time for me and my family. We knew about breast cancer prior to my diagnosis, but there was so much fear and uncertainty surrounding COVID. I felt lonely, far away from home and desperate. I was sharing hospital space with strangers and people who didn’t even speak the same language as me. I desperately prayed to God for a miracle.
One of these complete strangers became the answer to my prayers. She gave me a gift hamper containing all the things that I needed during my stay in the COVID isolation ward. When this kind lady offered me the gifts, I cried. I realised that God was with me and that he was taking care of my every need. After I was discharged from hospital, we had nowhere to stay for the quarantine period. The leaders in the India Western Territory gave my husband and me a place to stay free of charge. Again, I knew that God was with us and he was providing all our needs.
Today I am completely free of cancer and COVID-19. I am finally at home with my son. In a very powerful way, my sickness reminded me that God will always be with me. He proved that he is above everything. His name is above cancer, and his name is above COVID-19. He is worthy and more than able. Praise the Lord!
I fully believe that God’s power was made perfect in my weakness: ‘I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Report by Lauren Westwood
IHQ Communications