I’ve been to a few countries and I’ve done a lot of things in the past few months. What I haven’t done is a good job of sharing the things that I’ve been doing while I’m away. To be honest, it’s a tedious task to document the ins and outs of ministry. It feels very surface level to me, but I do realize that I am gone for 11 months doing God’s work with some amazing organizations and ministries around the world. These ministries deserve to be highlighted and YOU, my generous, loving supporters, deserve to hear the updates. So, this is my “quick fix” blog series to make up for all of the blogging that I haven’t done over the past few months. If you’d like to read about some of the deeper things that I’ve been experiencing and learning, you can find that in the blogs that I actually have written at www.kristinasmith.theworldrace.org.
India (March)
After Malaysia, my team went to Bangalore, India and worked with 3 other W Squad teams to partner with RISE India (www.riseindia.org). At first I didn’t understand why 4 teams needed to work with one ministry, but after the month I can definitely see why it was necessary and helpful for their efforts.
While in India we experienced a full gambit of ministry needs and opportunities in 2 different cities (Bangalore and Chitradurga) through home visits, teaching at a 2 year trade college, helping at a daycare, visiting women in a sex-trafficking rescue home, and working at an HIV/AIDS care facility.
My favorite part of ministry this month was definitely the house visits, being able to encourage and fellowship with other believers. I also really enjoyed getting to know the pastors and local missionaries who assisted RISE India. The Lord really taught me a lot about love, obedience, hope, and service through them. Not only did I get the chance to see a lot of ministry in India, but I also attended (with free tickets) the first ever PASSION CONFERENCE in Hyderabad, India while I was there. This gave me the opportunity to worship with THOUSANDS of believers in India and see the Christian community as I had not been able to see before.
I experienced a lot this month, both internally and externally (you can read a couple of the blogs I wrote in India for more details), but here are my biggest take away from India:
1) God isn’t concerned about our ABILITY, He only wants our AVAILABILITY
2) The Caste system is the enemy’s way of defining one’s worth based on their past and history. Jesus died to do away with that and to give us a new identity anchored in Him and His resurrection. Pray for India, that they would have an encounter with our Hope of Glory and realize their true value regardless of what their family name is.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series where I take you to Nepal!
