Update from India!

Hello everyone! My squad and I have been in India for about 3 weeks now, which totally blows my mind. It feels like just yesterday we were leaving Atlanta. In this blog I’m going to give you a little more information on what the past 3 weeks has looked like. 

 

For the entire first week here, it rained everyday. The constant wet weather made traveling to ministry and doing laundry pretty interesting. I thought my clothes would never dry! However, we have had tons of dry weather and heat for the past 2 weeks. 

 

Our ministry is called Bibles for the World and is located in a little village called Sielmat. We are privileged to work with a group of incredible Christians who are passionate about spreading the gospel to the unreached in their city and the surrounding areas. The following is a brief history of the ministry, described by one of my teammates:

 

A single missionary came to this area in the early 1900s. The small seed he planted grew to become more fruitful than he could ever imagine. A small tribal boy named Rochunga Pudaite left his family at the age of 9 to travel through 96 miles of the Indian Jungle to reach the “outside world”. He was determined to learn English and even translate the New Testament into his tribal dialect, which is Hmar. Rochunga threw himself into his studies, and eventually earned scholarships to universities in Scotland and the United States. He knew the salvation of his entire people group would be affect d if they could read the book of God themselves! After years of study, Rochunga finally was able to translate the New Testament into his native tongue and bring the Word of God back to his tribe. 

 

Rochunga and his wife, Mawii (the one hosting us here in India), have given the rest of their lives to bring the Kingdom of God to Northeast India. Rochunga died on October 10, 2015. Even though Ro passed away about a year ago, the fruit from his labor still continues to spread. Today, Christians in India make up 7-9% of the population. In Sielmat, however, over 75% of the population has heard the good news of the gospel and has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. How incredible is that?!

 

Bibles for the World provides education for all ages through schools that teach students the gospel in addition to the core classes. Many students who attend the school come from families with a Hindi background. The staff is very excited to have the school as an opportunity to share the gospel with these children and their families. Around 80% of the children who attend the school are funded from individuals in other countries through a scholarship program. 

 

Bibles for the World also has the best hospital in the area. People come from surrounding hospitals to receive the best care. Additionally, their doctors and nurses travel to surrounding villages that don’t have access to healthcare in order to provide for their needs. 

 

My squad has been privileged to serve Bibles for the World in many ways while we have been here. Here’s a list of some of the forms of outreach we have been able to do this month:

 

-accompany the medical staff to pray with the patients in their times of illness or despair

-teach Vacation Bible School to 50+ children

-help prepare and organize medical equipment in the hospital

-help with construction on several buildings, including the dorms we are living in 

-visit the local school and attend their chapel

-preach and teach in the local churches

-form relationships with our local hosts and empower them to continue serving here in Sielmat

-form relationships with the college-age students attending seminary school

 

 

Here’s what a typical day looks like here in India:

 

5:30 AM– Wake up to work out with teammates (which usually includes hiking up prayer mountain or using bricks as weights)

 

6:30 AM– Head to the tent for quiet time and chai tea

 

8 AM– Have breakfast as a whole squad 

 

9 AM to whenever- Go to ministry for the day. Sometimes we will come home for lunch and other times our ministry will last until dinner. 

 

3 PM– If I am back from ministry, a couple of us will play volleyball with the seminary boys that live next to us. I look forward to this time everyday, and they have been an unexpected blessing for me this month. 

 

5 PM– Dinner with the whole squad. The sun goes down really early here, so we usually have to walk back to our dorms in the dark. 

 

6:30 PM– Team time! This time is really just meant for team bonding. This time is usually spent with serious conversations, fun games, or just being goofy together. 

 

9 PM– We all are so beat by the end of the day that we go to sleep pretty early.