When Anjuli Seth Nayak arrived for the first retreat of her Transforming Community, she was clearly a force to be reckoned with!   Anjuli was not our typical retreatant.  She was Indian in background and a physician by profession, certified as an allergist and immunologist.   She was also a cancer survivor, enjoying a temporary remission that would eventually give way to future illness and the end of her life on this earth. 

Anjuli had to overcome many obstacles to migrate from India and become a physician in America, and the same strong personality that helped her overcome these obstacles was still obvious when she joined her community.  She had many firm opinions, and was not shy about expressing them.  She operated with an air of authority, and was accustomed to getting her way.  

Over the course of the two-year community experience, Anjuli’s dogmatism gave way to a spiritual openness and her overbearing pride was replaced with a new humility. In one of her last academic papers, she captured this transformation in her own words:  “Ruth Haley Barton (has) taught me to purge my narcissism and learn self-sacrifice…Through thick and thin, I am learning intimacy with Christ, fidelity in the spiritual disciplines, a biblical perspective on the circumstances in life, (and) a teachable, responsive, humble, and obedient spirit.”

Before her community experience ended, Anjuli confided to me that she wanted to leave money from her estate to the Transforming Center so that others could have the same opportunity for transformation she had. 

It was with deep gratitude that we received our first estate gift from the Nayak family earlier this year.  In keeping with Anjuli’s wishes, the money will be set up as an endowment fund, and the annual income will be used to provide scholarship funds to help those, especially minorities in the Chicago area, who need financial assistance to attend a Transforming Community.  

If you would like to discuss leaving an estate gift to the Transforming Center, contact Andrea Sung or call 630-588-8133, ext. 308.