Before we left for Vellore we worked
with a church called Comfort of Jesus Ministries. To be more
specific, we worked with the pastor’s sons Paul Israel and Paul
David, who go by Paul and David respectively. These guys are amazing
servants for the Kingdom. Both have done their DTS (Discipleship
Training School) with YWAM and have come back to Bangalore to serve
with their father in his church. The whole week we did home prayer
visits, gave testimonies, gave messages, lead worship, performed
skits, and got to know two really awesome men of God with whom I hope
to keep close contact.
Our first night with the Paul’s we went
to several homes of people to pray for them. At the first home we
visited we were met by a small woman who was full of smiles and eager
to invite us in to pray. She went in and I was invited in after Vinny
entered. I saw her standing in the nook where her kitchen is, so I
turned around to pass through her kitchen to the main area, but when
I turned around I was met with a wall and pots, and then it hit me.
This is it. This is her whole house, a tiny kitchen nook. Literally
24 square feet of space, probably much smaller as that is my very
rough estimate. Your heart just breaks when you see something like
that, and you just want to give all you can. The only thing I could
give her at that point was prayer, so we prayed earnestly for her.
She has two kids and an alcoholic husband who isn’t a believer. All
of them living and sleeping in less room than 24 square feet. And yet
in the midst of all of this she was smiling and there is a joy in
her; it just blows your mind. Please pray that her husband sees
Christ in a miraculous way and that God provides her family with a
larger home, and have faith that He will.
The next home was of a woman named
Vanilla. Her story is truly miraculous. When she was in her 10th
standard, or 10th grade if I can remember correctly, she
failed her exams. Something you need to understand is in India to
bring shame upon the family is one of the worst things you can do,
and to fail exams is highly shameful. Because of the shame she would
bring upon herself and her family, she decided death would be a
better option. The same night, while her parents were in the living
room area, she went to her room, covered herself in kerosene, and lit
a match. By the time her parents put the fire out she had received
severe burns over most of her body, and wasn’t far from death. When
the doctor arrived he told the parents Vanilla wouldn’t make it and
it would be better to just end her life and her suffering. Her
parents did not want to give up hope though, and they turned to their
Hindu gods. Praying and giving offerings to different gods to save
their daughter, but to no avail. At the end of their rope they heard
about the pastor of Comfort of Jesus Ministries who was in the area,
and they asked him to come. He came and prayed over Vanilla,
anointing her with oil. She has to drink the oil until she returned
to health. Where the doctor had given her hours, the Lord gave new
life! She began to be healed with new skin and quickly. She still has
scars and still needs cosmetic surgery, but is alive and well. God is
not absent and He still performs wonders and signs. Because of
Vanilla’s life and testimony, many in her neighborhood have turned to
the Lord, and we were able to pray and worship with them.
I apologize for not posting this a long
time ago, but internet and or time is often scarce. Below is a
picture of the Paul’s and their family. From top left to top right is
Paul Israel, the Pastor, and Paul David. The four boys are orphans in
Paul David’s ministry, and the woman is his mother. Forgive me as I
can’t remember anyone’s name except Paul’s and David’s.
