Remembering Tom Little

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.’” ~ Rev. 14:13

I want to write to you about our friend, Tom Little. It’s hard knowing where to start, so let me begin by telling you that Tom came from a small pleasant town in upstate New York. His father was an accomplished doctor, and Tom had a first rate education from Tufts University. He and Libby had every opportunity to live a comfortable, privileged upper-class life in the United States. Instead they chose to make their home in Afghanistan. For a ridiculously low salary, Tom worked at all aspects of eye care, from grinding lenses and dispensing eye drops to performing operations and setting up hospitals and clinics. He traversed the country’s rugged terrain, hiking for days, to reach those most in need. Along with his devoted wife, Libby, they raised their three daughters in Afghanistan. Communist and Taliban regimes did not deter them. They spoke the language, observed the customs and ate the food. They chose to live in Afghanistan because they loved the people there. They lived in Afghanistan because Christ called them to do so. They did not visit Afghanistan. They visited the United States. Their home was Afghanistan.

Tom was an optometrist. In 2008, he graduated from the Advanced Standing International Program at the New England College of Optometry, where he also served as adjunct faculty of the college. During that time, Tom and Libby stayed in a small house in Hopkinton while he worked on his degree. That is how I met him. Tom and Libby chose to attend a small Methodist Church called Grace in Hopkinton. They chose to gift our tiny congregation with their immense, understanding hearts and humble, gentle spirits. We offered them a church home for a small portion of their Christian journey.

We were blessed by Tom’s preaching at Grace. He spoke to us about forgiveness, and the great gift of God’s pardon for us. He spoke about the struggle to embrace that gift, and warned us about the amazing things that happen when we open our hearts to the transformational love Christ offers! He shared his work in Afghanistan with us, and we all ran out to read The Kite Runner hoping to glimpse the world he described.

Tom was a Christian: a follower of Christ. That’s why he lived in Afghanistan. He had a degree from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. When Christ called him to devote his life to the Afghan people, it didn’t matter to Tom that their religion differed from his. What did matter was that Christ called him to be their friend, to give them sight, and to heal their wounds. Tom didn’t impose his faith on anyone, Afghans or Americans. He simply lived it out in their midst. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and longsuffering: Saint Paul may have written about the fruits of the spirit, but Tom Little truly lived and shared them with the world.

The people at Grace were blessed to know Tom and Libby Little. During the two short years I was privileged to be their pastor, they showed me the power of Christ in the most meaningful and tangible ways I have ever known. Tom’s most concrete legacy may be the NOOR hospital he envisioned and built, but it will never overshadow the hundreds of Afghans he trained, the thousands of Afghans he treated, and the model of true Christian living he offered the world. I have truly been blessed by Tom and Libby Little.

I thank God for the life and legacy of Tom Little. May he rest in peace in Afghanistan, the home Christ gave to him.

In Grace and Peace,

Pastor Leigh

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was in prison and you visited me…Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me. ~Matthew 25: 35-40

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior!

What did you do on your summer vacation?  The quintessential question that marks the beginning of a new school year. So, what did you do this summer?  Did you take a family trip to the mountains or the beach? Did you visit Europe or explore the ruins of an ancient civilization?  At Grace UMC, a group of us took a mission trip to a less exotic, but equally interesting spot.  We went to Cookson, Oklahoma, and participated in a way of life quite foreign to our own experience.

When our Volunteers in Mission team arrived at the United Methodist Mission in Cookson Hills, Oklahoma, we were stunned by the 110 degree temperatures, the diminutive size of the town, and the rural surroundings. We came to provide mission assistance to the Native Americans living in the area, but where were they? What need is there for ministry at the fringes of the Ozarks? Why did God send this group of motivated volunteers to the middle of nowhere to do mission work?

The answers started to appear even before the questions escaped our lips. Rev. Meri Whitaker spent an afternoon sharing information about her parish, and we learned that one does not need to travel to a developing nation to find extreme poverty. It is here, in America, in our own backyard. She shared with us that Native Americans are second only to Haitians as the poorest minority in the Western Hemisphere. In her church, the average person “lives on” $5,000 each year. Resultantly, we found many of the Cherokee living in shacks in the back woods. The rate of violent crimes, particularly rape and aggravated assault are staggering and rising in this remote area. White supremacists populate the county’s heavily wooded forests. It is not surprising to learn that Timothy McVeigh found refuge in this area after the Oklahoma City bombings.

Yet even in the darkest places, God’s hope can be found in the church and love of Christian mission. Cookson Hills had 1 ½ staff when Meri arrived 24 years ago. Today, the center has 20 staff, and most are recovering from addictions and have prison records. The center has provided creative ways to use peoples’ gifts and to provide employment opportunities to those otherwise unemployable. The church is active, despite a significant percentage who are completing jail terms. Cookson is in a “hot spot” for drug and alcohol abuse, with 7 houses cooking crystal meth for every church/mission in the area, which is why the General Board of Global Ministries has kept a mission program there for over 60 years.



And that is why missionaries are assigned to this area. Jen Chickering works as a US2 Missionary, sent by the United Methodist Church to provide medical assistance to Native Americans populating Cookson Hills and the surrounding areas. She lives in a tiny trailer on the Cookson Hills site that she sometimes shares with other missionaries. As a US2 missionary, she is supported by Grace UMC, and is committed to live in Cookson for two years.



During our week, the team worked in a variety of areas, building a porch, painting, working in the thrift shop, providing meals to the seniors and children in the daycare facility, and even working in the nursery. We attended church and bible study and committed ourselves to prayer for our eight days together. Mostly we established new relationships and friendships among our brothers and sister in Cherokee County.



All of us at Grace are committed to assist Jen for her tenure at Cookson Hills, where she feeds and waters the hungry, clothes the naked, cares for the sick and visits those in and out of prison. God is alive and well in Cherokee County Oklahoma, and manifests through the work of Jen and all the mission groups who support the United Methodist mission in Cookson Hills. 

So, tell us about your summer vacation.  What did you do?  Who did you meet?  Who did you help?  Who helped you?  Let us know about your mission, your hope, your dream for a better life, or your dream to make someone else's life better.  What did you do on your summer vacation?