India is very thick with tradition, cultural expectations, and religious practices. It is also very densely populated, filled with all sorts of transportation devices, little markets and people everywhere!
My first experience on the roads of India was in a rickshaw/auto/tuk-tuk: A 3-wheeled vehicle that is supposed to seat 4 but usually you see at least 6 or 7 people packed in them….sitting on one another’s laps. Anyways, this ride was quite the adventure! A little scary at times, but mostly really fun. Indian people are very aggressive drivers and there doesn’t seem to be any road rules…so you can imagine the craziness on the roads. It’s very similar to Tetris. Cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, buses, and bicycles all traveling together, just inches apart from each other, trying to reach there destinations. Add in all the people and dogs walking around on the roads and you’ve got yourself a front row seat to very skilled drivers! Seriously, it’s crazy.
This month, my teams ministry is with the Covenant School of Worship in Hyderabad. We are teaching, preaching, praying and worshipping together with the students at the school this month!
I love it!!!
Many evenings, we get to go to the slums and preach the Gospel, share our testimonies, worship with them, and individually pray over everyone – it’s a beautiful experience.
What I’ve noticed from this culture so far is that Indians LOVE music that speaks to their souls – that cause them to dance and lift their voices in song…it’s like their hearts were already encoded with the NEED to worship through music. This is what I get to witness each time we go somewhere within our location and preach. There is a definite heart of worship in this city…it’s amazing.
I’ve also enjoyed learning about their culture – women are expected to wear Punjabi’s (poon-jabi) or Sari’s whenever they are out in public or around men. These outfits are meant to cover ankles, shoulders, knees, and upper arms…it’s also supposed to hide the womanly figure – so they are pretty baggy. It basically covers everything that this culture believes is too private to expose.
I know what you’re thinking: ankles? Really? Yeah, apparently it causes men to fall into temptation here…so we abide by these rules and cover up! My team went shopping the first day and each purchased a punjabi or two so we could be culturally appropriate.
Men also cover their ankles and shoulders but wear just a regular shirt with jeans to be appropriate.
The main religion practiced here is Hinduism. We hear the call to prayer many times during the day. The pressure to either stay Hindi or convert to Hindi is very heavy here. You are looked down upon, are persecuted, or risk being in danger if you are anything other than Hindi….especially Christians.
One day, my team went to a popular park to evangelize with some of the male students (also called “brothers”) and our contact, Sister Madhu. We were so excited to share The Word with anyone that wanted to hear it!
We walked along the path until we came to a group of youth playing soccer with a water bottle, chatting and laughing together. Our brothers proceed to tell us to split up and strike up a conversation with them. A little confused, we split and attempted to talk with them…praying they spoke English! Surprisingly, most Indians that I have encountered do speak English….well enough to carry a conversation even.
So the brothers stood on the sidelines to act as our eyes and protection while we evangelized with the youth.
Some went and played soccer, some sat on a bench with an elderly man, and some of us sat with a few girls in the grass. Each of us got to know the youth well and even were able to pray with them! Some were actually Christians themselves and welcomed our prayers with joy! The elderly man also received prayer – specifically for healing. His joints caused him great pain and most movements would amplify the pain. So two of my teammates prayed healing over this man and God showed up in a big way – the man’s pain was completely removed from his body…he was pain-free for the the first time in many years.
Praise God!!
By that time, we had drawn a lot of peoples’ attention and some of the men were becoming agitated, taking pictures of us and staring us down…so our brothers quickly gathered us and told us to walk away – we walked without question. They ushered us away from that area and into a secluded space with benches.
As we sat down, Sister Madhu explained to us that some of the park-goers were getting angry at the open display of prayer over the youth and the healing that had just occurred. We weren’t in any great danger, but just to be safe, it was wise to leave before a riot formed. While we sat on the benches, one of the brothers told us we were going to pray over the park together. But he explained that we had to do it with our eyes open so it didn’t look like we were praying. So we proceeded to pray, eyes wide open, pretending we were talking with each other when we were really praying to God for the park…for the people there…for their salvation.
There is danger here, but our brothers are wise and VERY aware of everything around them. They know when to stay and when to leave – God has protected us every time we have shared His Word to people here.
There are many safe places to share the Gospel as well…every Covenant Worship School in this city is an immediate safe place. They are all over the city and in some villages and slums too…so there are many places to worship safely.
So far, my team has loved every experience we have had here! It’s a busy place with lots of people, but God is moving here! Christians are rising up in the face of persecution and God is using his children to bring His Kingdom here. The spiritual warfare is so evident, but we already know who wins! So there is also great confidence in our steps because Christ has already won the battle…he has already conquered satan and triumphs over everything we have faced and will face in the future.
There is movement.
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15
