India has stolen my heart!! I can’t believe I’m typing this, but it is true. I assumed India would be my toughest month. I’ve been expecting the worst, but the Lord is showing Himself so strong among the people of this beautiful culture.
As I wrote in my previous blog, our team was chosen to work in village outreach and church-planting. We are the only team to live and minister in a village. We know this ministry carries a responsibility and have been prepared for this month to be a time of growth. We expect to be uncomfortable and see it as an opportunity to grow closer to God and in the gifts He has given us.
We take part in village ministry each evening Tuesday through Sunday. (Sundays are a double-whammy as we preach at church and then head to village outreach in the evening.) Each evening we pile more than a dozen people into a car made to hold 8-10 passengers. We drive to a new village each night where Pastor has another church body or other host waiting for us.
We begin the evening with house visits to pray for families and invite people to our gathering. The response we get is amazing. Foreigners are respected and held in a high regard in these Indian villages. In fact, we are the first white people some of these villagers have seen. As a result, we have been invited into some unexpected homes. We have found ourselves in both Hindu and Muslim households where we have been able to pray for the families and bless them. (Yes, they were aware we are Christians.) During this time, we usually develop a big crowd that will follow us from house to house. I love grabbing hands that are out-reached as we pass by. The look of joy and acceptance that comes across their faces melts my heart.
We then head back to the church or host home where we enjoy hearing some worship sung in Telegu. It is beautiful! We follow with 2 or 3 of our own worship songs. One more Telegu song and then we are ready to preach.
Our translator, Mounibob, stands to interpret for us. We begin with introductions, which always gets laughs because Cody’s name in Telegu means “hen”. Each evening two teammates share. One shares their testimony and something about the gospel that ties it all together. The other teammate preaches only the gospel. It is amazing the attention we receive, even from children.
our translator and her husband
When the messages are over, Pastor and the hosting pastor share and then they instruct men and women to form lines to prepare for prayer. Prayer is solely performed by our team. Generally, men pray for men and women pray for women. I pull up the scarf that serves as my head-covering, receive an encouraging smile from one of my teammates, and take a deep breath… I am ready. I, along with the other women on my team, work my way down the line interpreting prayer requests the best I can through body language. Usually, I lay my hand on their head and begin to pray. Some women are a little more direct by placing my hand on specific body parts that need to be prayed for. I have even had women lay my hand on their belly or breast.
The faith that Indians exude in our prayers for them is such a breath of fresh air! We are use to praying for people who, clearly, don’t believe it will come to pass. That is not the case here. During our initial orientation, we heard that India is a very spiritual culture. They take prayer seriously and when they become saved, use it as a powerful tool.
I enjoy asking the Lord to anoint the woman I am praying for. I always ask the Spirit to come and make her whole physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually as He transforms her life. Lastly, I pray against any spirit of entitlement or abuse her husband may hold toward her. It melts my heart and brings me joy to finish with a hand squeeze or kiss on the hands or cheek. You can see a recognition of love sweep across her face and I realize this may be the first time she has ever experienced this.
I once asked the Lord to break my heart for what breaks His… it is overwhelming how often that has happened this month… and this is the first week!!
As the remainder of hope-filled women turn for home, we are ushered into our host’s home for a dinner prepared and served by his wife, along with our pastor’s wife. We sit on the floor cross-legged and wait to be served. Our hosts sit around with smiles as they watch their Americans eat their yummy, but spicy food using only our right hands. We’ve learned to eat slowly and always leave a little on your plate so we aren’t served more. It is a normal thing for us to over eat as we are continually served more portions by our hospitable hosts.
After dinner, we gather for a prayer of blessing over our host and his family. This is usually followed by a group photo. We say our last goodbyes as we load into our ride home. Children gather around and tap windows to get last waves of goodbye. As the car lurches forward, I thank God for another opportunity to minister to His children in India. The beauty is they minister to us just as much. It does my heart good.
Be blessed!!
