I sit in my small concrete room on bed that consists of an REI sleeping pad, a pillow, and sleeping bag liner. My belongings sit off to the side of my bed; stacked up packing cubes filled with 5 shirts, 2 skirts, 1 dress, 4 pairs of pants/shorts, undergarments, and 3 pairs of shoes. What I found necessary beyond complete necessities was my small packing cube filled with art supplies. Living out of a backpack is hard but I’m so grateful to have the room to spread my stuff out this month. I’m usually woken up at around 5:30-6am by the sound of a tiny old woman getting frustrated while herding her loud cows right outside the window of my room. I open the windows and breathe in the fresh air of Sielmat, India. I usually then wander up on the roof that overlooks the tiny village in the mountain region. The cows graze among the cemetery below and our laundry hangs to dry on the ropes strung between the construction poles. I gaze out among the village and thank the Lord that I am in a place such as this.
After over 40 hours of travel which included 3 flights and 1 crowded bus ride, we finally arrived in Sielmat late at night. We were greeted with a welcome tea and an amazing dinner that night. The men and women that serve us are so wonderful. Their motto is “not to be served, but to serve” and that is exactly what they do. I’ve never felt so at home after just a few hours of being here. The area where we eat is a large tent decorated with quilts of many colors and designs. It feels good to be in a new place again.
This part of India is not what I expected but I am so amazingly surprised. It is so lush, so green, rural, and mountainous. The people here look more like they are from South East Asia than they do Indian. They are so beautiful and so full of love. The serve us beyond what we could have asked for. There have been many times where I feel like I am back in Laos again. The village I am in consists of about 75% Christians, and 80% of the people here are literate. That is not the case for the rest of India. What makes this village of Sielmat so special is because of the work the Lord did in Dr. Rochunga Pudaite’s life. This man died last October in his late 80s but he still continues to make a lasting difference in this community. When Dr. Pudaite was a young boy, he lived in a jungle village among the Hmar people. Dr. Pudaite heard the gospel for the first time when he was a young boy. He continued to spread the gospel among his people, who went from “head hunters to heart hunters”. He translated the Hmar spoken language into the Hmar written language which then translated the first Hmar Bible. Through his passion of reaching unreached people groups, the ministry Bibles for the World was formed. Throughout his life, he brought good education, a Christian hospital and research center, and a bible seminary to Sielmat. He is a well-respected man in this community, with posters of his face and his impact left everywhere. His wife was able to share his story with us and the story of their life together in serving the Lord.
Our ministry this month includes a variety of lots of different things. The hosts this month have been so wonderful in setting up ministry opportunities and a schedule for our teams each day. This month is also all squad month which means all 56 of us are in the same place this month. We still do ministry within our teams of 6-7 but we eat, sleep, and go serve in different areas all together. Ministry looks like anything from construction, helping out at the hospital, putting on health clinics, working in the schools, serving our hosts however needed, helping cook/clean, and meeting some of the sponsor children that are sent to get good education through that sponsorship. On our off time, some people go into town to talk to the locals, or play soccer with the kids.
My team’s time so far started out with construction day 1 at another village to help build the foundation for a church. About 30 of us stood in the back of the open truck driving through the busy streets of the city in order to reach the village. We laughed, sang, waved at locals, and were full of joy when they smiled back. We moved hoed and shoveled dirt around the base of the foundation for about 2 hours as the locals stood on scaffolds made from bamboo. Towards the end of our work, it started to pour and we danced in the rain, and played volleyball. We hopped back in the truck to head back to the village and it down poured the entire time back. We were laughing, singing, and falling all over the place in the back of the truck soaking wet but it was one of those moments that I thought, “Yes, this is what living looks like. This is pure joy and nothing can ruin that.”
Our second day of ministry was medical prep in which we went down to the hospital and prayed over some of the patients there as well as fold gauze for the following day. One of the patients there I had prayed over a few days prior and when I came back on this day, he looked sicker. His whole family surrounded him in the small hospital ward, in which his frail body lie on the bed in the dark room. IV’s in his hands and tubes in his nose, he had some liver/kidney issues (translation was lost at that point), and needed surgery. What struck me most though was his joy even among his weakness. I would look him in the eye and he would gently smile back, even though not able to talk, I was able to understand that he was grateful for his life right now. Grateful to be in a hospital where he can get care, and his family surrounding him.
The next day we had the opportunity to go to a village about 30 minutes away to put on a medical camp with the doctors here. This village in the past has been against anyone coming in to pray for them and have been closed to the gospel. BUT PRAISE THE LORD, THEY WERE WILLING ON THIS DAY TO LET US LAY HANDS ON THEM TO PRAY!!! Guys, this was an amazing day. We saw people healed, one of which my teammate prayed over and the woman’s foot was healed instantaneously! Wiping tears from her eyes, she thanked us but even more so, thanks to the only living God who heals!! This is incredible. Please continue to join me in prayer over this Hindi village, that this would only be the beginning of them seeing the Lord firsthand. That this would be the last generation to worship false gods, that they would come to intimately know their Father. There was so much joy on this beautiful day. We danced, we laughed, and were kissed on the cheek by the most precious kids. Praise the Lord.
From spending time with my team exploring the city, to going over to local’s homes to play games with the kids, to sitting on the rooftops painting the beautiful village, to praying over the sick in hospitals, and using our hands to help build solid foundations, India has far exceeded my expectations so far. The Lord is working in mighty ways, He is moving and He is transforming. My heart is so full. I hope to update again soon, our wifi situation this month has not been ideal but we are making it work! For now, please be in prayer for:
- our squad’s unity
- the ministries we get to be a part of
- our hosts
- against spiritual warfare that has been present in our dorms
- The gospel to spread among the city of Manipur
- Health of our team
- That we would be present and intentional in the rest of this month
I am so blessed by all of you, thank you for your encouragement, your support, and your love. I could not do it without you!! I am still about $1,000 away from being fully funded! Please join me in this by clicking “donate” on the bar above!
Thanks so much,
Steph
