ABOUT US
Sacred Hands of Hope Indian Ministry is a multifaceted Christian ministry serving the humanity through Homeless Care, Christian Education, Health and Economic Projects, Research and Publication, Integrated Development Projects, Community Development and Church Growth. As a responsible and caring social organisation, we mainly dedicate our time and resources for the care of homeless population in Dallas area, running multiple orphanages in India and Philippines, operating educational and health care services and publishing unique and popular books and research publications in regional languages.
THE BEGINING
The ministry is founded by Pastor Santhosh Podimala, a senior official with Baylor Health Care, Dallas. It was an unusual event at his workplace that prompted him to take a leap into charity-related ministries and start Sacred Hands of Hope Indian Ministries. Detroit, the erstwhile American Motown, lost its sheen when major automobile industries shut down over a financial meltdown and recession. For many of the residents who were laid off by the so-called corporations, the city looked like a ghost town, and a good number of people moved out in search of a livelihood. One family arrived in Dallas. Many days, the man waited in the area where daily wagers flock together for getting work and menial jobs. Unfortunately, the man from Detroit was unable to secure employment in this area for several days. The family was in starvation and abject poverty. One day, after waiting for a long time for a work call, he returned home empty-handed. When his starved younger son asked him for food, overpowered by hunger pangs and a sudden outburst of frustration and emotion, he hit the wall with his hand. The impact was so powerful that he broke his palm. Subsequently, he came to Baylor Hospital for treatment. While undergoing treatment, he conveyed his wishes to meet the hospital chaplain. Pastor Santhosh Podimala came to the scene only to find out about the family’s harrowing experience of starvation and job loss. He helped them out with food supplies and all necessary assistance for survival. This incident made a tremendous impact on the life of Pastor Santhosh, and he understood God was directing him into a new sphere of ministry. Sacred Hands of Hope Indian Ministries was born in 2011. The certain group of people Pastor Santhosh works among is socially boycotted and helpless, as they are drug addicts, criminals, people who completed their prison term, ex-gangsters, homeless, beggars, and terminally ill. He offered them the light of the gospel along with clothing, food, and other necessities for rehabilitation and restoration. Many of them came to Jesus through this ministry and received baptism. And by the grace of God, some of them willingly dedicated their lives to serving the brethren on the streets and roads.
Founder & President: Pastor Santhosh Podimala
Vice President: Rev. Benjamin Thomas
Secretary: Br. John K Babu
Treasurer: George Abraham
SHHIM LEADERSHIP
BOARD MEMBERS
Rev. Nelson D. Munda
Nestor Bunda is an ordained Philippine Baptist minister. He is endorsed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas for health care chaplaincy and is board-certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains. He finished high school at Filamer Christian University (model student). He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Filamer Christian University, his Bachelor of Divinity from Central Philippine University (Most Outstanding Graduate of CPU Class 1980), and his Doctor of Theology (Cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg, Germany.
He was an associate professor at Central Philippine University, Filamer Christian University, and Convention Baptist Bible College. He was also the pulpit minister at Baptist Centre Church in Iloilo City, Philippines, before he migrated to the US in 2005. His chaplaincy ministry began at Baylor University Medical Centre in August 2005. After finishing his second-year CPE residency in August 2007, he moved into a staff chaplaincy position at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. His ministry focuses on giving spiritual care to individuals with strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other orthopaedic and neurological disorders. Also, he has coordinated the Baylor Clergy Partnership Programme since September 2007. He was a pastor and one of the regular preachers at Umphress Road United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. He is the husband of Ella, a registered nurse working at the University General Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He is the father of Oliver Fritz, a former faculty member at Central Philippine University's High School Department. Currently Nestor Bunda is serving as a missionary in his home country, Philippines.
Rev. Dr. Paul T. Payway
Paul Tarr Payway is the fifth born of a family of eight. He is an ordained Baptist minister, endorsed by the Texas Baptist Church, and board-certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains.
Paul earned a Bachelor in Religious Education (Cum Laude) from the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa; a Master in Theological Studies; and a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX. He also has both Masters in Health System Management (MHSM) and Business Administration (MBA) from Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX.
He is a former pastor of the Du-Port Road Baptist church in Paynesville, Liberia, an educator, a chaplain at the North Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls, TX, and now a consistent conference presenter for the Association of Professional Chaplains, presenting a workshop on compassion fatigue and mental health and spiritual care: The Thin Line. Paul has written several articles, including Living in a Post-racial Society: A Reflection on the REM Invitational (2010) and Compassion Fatigue: Health Workers Plaque (unpublished).
Pastor Santhosh Podimala is the senior pastor of Bethel Pentecostal Assembly. Pastor Santhosh is an ordained Pentecostal minister and has served in various ministries in and around India. The Bethel Pentecostal Assembly, his home church, is located in Lucas, Texas. Pastor Santhosh shepherds his church members to be more involved in realising their particular mission of “To Reach the Unreached, To Care for the Uncared” for Christ. Also, he ministers to the sick at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas as a staff member and triage chaplain. Pastor Santhosh has a great passion for missioning to the poor and needy. Other than leading the Sacred Hands of Indian Ministries, he also oversees the ministry called the Indian Christian Assembly in Chandigarh (www.icaministries.com). also he is the chairman of Reform Books (https://reformbooks.com/), the publishing arm of Sacred Hands of Hope Indian Ministries. He has two children, Sneha and Seth, and is married to Susan Podimala.
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
