Imagine this if you will:
You are on a team with six other white girls ranging in their mid 20s to early 30s. Your first stop together as a new team is India, "the land of the many gods." The place that everyone has given you warning about going: the demons, the dirt, the heat, the food. So you enter India with the expectation that you will not be sleeping at night because of nightmares, you will constantly be sick to your stomach from the food, and you will sweat your body weight off from the extreme heat. You were told you would be living in a village, which meant no water or electricity. Luckily for you it turns out everyone was wrong! Except for the church services…
You arrive on a Thursday and your first church service is scheduled for Sunday. You are told by your contact that you will be doing Sunday morning service, a youth service in the afternoon, and then a roof top prayer meeting that night. You are expected to sing four songs at each, a skit, give two testimonies each 15 minutes long (that does not include translation time), a sermon that is at least 30 minutes long (again not including time for translation), and then a prayer. But you cannot repeat anything for any of the services. You and your team come up with 12 songs, 3 skits, 6 testimonies, and 3 sermons. You have everything ready to go and are excited but nervous about Sunday.
Sunday arrives. You and your team pile into two autos with the rest of your host family, 5 people in each. Autos are not exactly the roomiest…think about a two person seat and fitting three people on it, then two more on a wooden board that runs parallel with the seat but directly behind the driver. To say the least you and your team are very crowded. And let's not forget that you are spending the night in the church so you also have all of your day packs with you.
You arrive to the church an hour later. Some people are already worshiping so you take a seat beside them on the floor. Before you know it there are seven chairs lining the front of the room. You and your team are requested to sit at the front, above everyone else. You have a weird feeling about this and would prefer to sit beside your family on the floor but are told not to, that it would be rude; so you are forcefully requested to sit in that chair.
Your host dad is also the Pastor and says a few words in a language that you cannot read, write, or understand. The next thing you know, he leans over towards your group and says go. You and your team begin singing songs, watching the crowd zone out from boredom. Then you are told to do the skit. This draws the crowd back especially since Pastor is translating. He recognizes this and requests a second skit. You and your team quickly come up with one. The crowd loves it. You are not speaking at this service so you can take a break. Breathe a little. The hard work for you is done.
You take your seat back and quietly look around the room and listen to what is being said. You can tell that the crowd is actually listening and possibly getting something out of the message. The sermon is finally over and Pastor has a few more words to say. After he is finished he says a prayer. In your mind church is over and it is time to eat since you have been sitting there for two and a half hours. Then Pastor looks at you and says "Okay. Now you will pray." You think okay one prayer for the whole church. That's easy! But you quickly realize how wrong you are. Pastor is expecting you to pray for everyone individually in the room.
All of the sudden you are bombarded by people who are tugging and pulling on you to get you to pray for them. You are trying to pray sincerely and confidently but with so many people thirsting for the prayer, you notice you slip into a generic prayer. They are all so desperate for prayer and think you are their only hope.
This scenario was my first Sunday in India. However, the "gig," as I like to call it, was everywhere we went. The praying was never ceasing.
Never in my life have I prayed so much for so many people! And never in my life have I prayed such generic prayers repeatedly. "Thank You Father for at least giving this woman the willingness to ask for prayers. Please Lord, be with this woman. Help her to be the cornerstone of her household. Help her to bring her husband and children to know you. Help her to cast out anything that is not of You in her house and life. Please heal her from any pains or illness. Thank You for what You are doing in her life and what You will continue to do in her life. Amen." You get the gist.
People begged for our prayers because they would see the color of our skin and think we have some kind of power they don't and it's magnified because we are missionaries. Because of their culture and probably what some missionary told them at some point, they don't believe God hears their prayers. Well I am here to tell you that I have no more power than anyone else does to pray to God and heal people. God is the only one who has the power.
And guess what? He listens to everyone's prayers because He wants to see everyone saved, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.
And He loves everyone "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are." 1 John 3:1, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.
Otherwise why would He have sent Jesus to die for our sins? He wants a relationship with all of us! Not just me because of my skin color. God does not judge based on skin color. He is the one who formed you! He created you in your mother's womb, in secret. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Psalm 139:13-16.
He is a detailed God and created you to be exactly who you are. He did not create you to be your sister, your mother, your neighbor, but you! He has an excellent and wonderful plan for you. All of your days have been ordained. He loves you for you since He created you so finely!
Do not believe that just because I am from America and have white skin that I am any better than you or have a closer relationship to God than you. God longs for a relationship with you but you have to be willing to open up to Him and start that relationship. I cannot do it for you. I can pray for you, for the strength, courage, and the heart for a relationship with Him. But you have to be the first one to take the step and pray to Him about your relationship.
This was one of the biggest and tiring things I faced in India. For all of you who are thinking about being a missionary, please keep this in mind as you start your journey, especially if you are not seeing any true results. Others can easily become dependent on you based on your background. The key is teaching them to depend on God and not you.
I will now step off my soap box. Thank you 🙂
