In Sabathu, Simla, Sadhu Sundar Singh met a wealthy American, S.E.Stokes, who had come to India fired with the desire to live for Christ in that country. Immediately a friendship was forged between the two. Stokes was reminded of the famous St.Francis of Assisi, whose life had inspired his decision to come to India, but of whom Sundar had never heard.

“Francis of Assisi was born in Italy some eight hundred years ago”, Stokes told Sundar. “He was born into a very wealthy family so he had plenty of money, and was a very popular young man. But when he was about 22 years old, he started thinking about God. One day he heard a preacher speak from the tenth chapter of Mathews’s Gospel, where Jesus asked His disciples to go out and preach, warning people to turn from their wrongdoing and to return to God. Jesus also told them to heal those who were ill, to cast out devils and to do good. And He told them to take no money buy to eat such food as was given to them wherever they went.

“Francis knew that this was what Christ was now telling him to do and he obeyed. He gave away all his money and possessions and went out preaching. But he did not only preach. He helped people in a practical way, caring for them, when they were sick, sharing his food with beggars, helping the weak. He was entirely different from the priests in the churches who did not move a finger to help anyone. He had a wonderful power over animals too, seeking them as God’s creatures just as we are. None of them, even the fiercest, ever hurt him. He founded the religious order called the Franciscans.”

The resemblance of Sundar’s chosen manner of life to that of Francis of Assisi was obvious. As Stokes talked to him and heard of the opportunities he had, the doors that opened to him as he moved from place to place, as well as the hardships he had to suffer, and as he saw the joy this young Sikh had in serving his Master, Stokes was stirred. He decided to join Sundar and take to the Indian road as a Sadhu (hermit).

Therefore, it came about that for several months Sundar and the American traveled together, sharing the same food, enduring the same privations. Inevitably, Sundar had to take the lead for he knew the language and the customs of his own people. The marvel was that the American, coming from such an entirely different background, adapted himself so well to a manner of life that was hard even for an Indian, and that the two of them merged so harmoniously. The ardor of their spirits bound them together. And eventually it was Sundar, not Stokes, who broke down physically. He was suddenly seized with acute internal pain and very soon was feverish and shaking with ague. He struggled on until he could walk no longer and collapsed on the path.

It was the alarming situation for Stokes who bent over him trying to make him comfortable, and enquiring earnestly, “How are you?” He never forgot the reply he received. A faint smile came over Sundar’s boyish face and he uttered silently, “I am very happy. How sweet it is to suffer for His sake!”

“How sweet it is to suffer for His sake!” That was the keynote of Sundar’s life. Stokes looked at his young companion and realized that he was physically incapable of moving. Something must be done to get him to a place where he could rest and be nursed back to health. Learning that there was a European living not far away, Stokes went to him and asked for his help. History does not relate the first reactions of the man when confronted by a white-skinned Sadhu in a saffron robe who spoke in fluent English with an American accent! But he acceded to the request for help and had Sundar brought to his home. With rest, good food and suitable medication, the young Sikh recovered quickly and before long he and Stokes were back on the road. But their brief stay in the home of that European led to his accepting Christ.

Returning to Sabathu, they found there was a need for help in the hospital for leprosy patients and worked there for a while until, hearing that plague had broken out on the plains, they went down to the plague camp to serve like Francis of Assisi before them by nursing the sick and dying.

It was their last period of working together, for although they kept in touch for some time, and usually spent a short period each summer taking crippled boys to a camp in the hills, their paths separated. Stokes went to America and to England, recruiting young men to join a brotherhood to work rather on Franciscan lines in India. And Sundar, responding to the urge that he had been aware of, turned his steps at last towards the land that lay behind that great gray mass on the northern horizon – Tibet.