We arrived in India a little over a week ago and already I am on such a spiritual high.
We had the opportunity to travel to numerous rural villages and go house to house praying for each family. We also had the opportunity to worship, preach and tell our testimonies in these villages. It was amazing!
House to house ministry does not look the same as it does in the USA. As we walked through the villages we met families cooking dinner over outdoor fires, tending to their water buffalo or goats, waiting for customers behind their street food stands, mothers bathing their children in bucket showers, or if it was a child most likely they would be walking along side us in the village practicing the little English they know and holding our hands.
We were pushed past our comfort zones and practiced praying with authority. We were welcomed with Jasmine flower lays in every village and even full on street bands as the village danced with us through the streets. We proclaimed the word of God, prayed with those who accepted Christ into their hearts, experienced healings and deliverance from demonic possession.
I just want to say that GOD IS SO GOOD. I have been learning so much about God – his holiness and worthiness to be praised. A reverence for God is something I have lacked throughout the years.
He is alive and he really does contain all power and authority in heaven and on earth!
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Top 5 favorite moments from the week
1. A Story of Healing
One of the nights in a village we were going house to house and asking if anyone needed prayer. We came upon a family that wanted us to pray for an older woman who had trouble hearing. Our translator was standing next to her but she could not hear him so another woman would come speak loudly in front of her. After we prayed, our translator asked if she could hear and she could… then he began to back away from her and she could still hear. As we were leaving, the older woman came running up to me to shake my hand and give me a hug as a thank you for our prayer. We told her it was the power of God and you could see she was so thankful God had healed her. This was my first time experiencing God’s healing with my own eyes.
2. A Story of Deliverance
One night in a village we had just finished our church service when a woman walked into the church with her grandson asking for prayer for her headache. As a teammate began to pray for her, the woman fell to the ground squirming around and completely out of it. She continued to pray for her and a few others joined. When I saw this I was immediately reminded of the demon who spoke out in church the first time Jesus preached in Capernaum, and I knew to pray against the enemy. A few minutes past and she stood up but still very out of it swaying back and forth with her eyes rolling around… so still we continued to pray against the enemy. Moments later the demon left her and she snapped out it completely not remembering anything that had happened. She accepted Christ that night.
3. Best Village Welcome Hands Down
One day before sundown we arrived to a village, but as we approached the village we see a large crowd of people walking in the street towards our bus and we are told we need to get out and walk. Turns out, this village always honors visitors by throwing them a party in the streets! We have drums and Jasmine lays, bags of flower petals tossed in the air like confetti and people passing around water. Every couple minutes the crowd would stop and the people would form a circle for us to dance. I was so full of joy and excited to see God work in this place just as he had in previous villages. This reminded me of when King David danced in the streets.
4. Prayer and the Power of Two
This week I discovered I enjoy praying in two’s. As a squad we were challenged to spend some time in intercessory prayer, so my friend Nora and I sat out on the balcony of the place we were staying and prayed together. We prayed over India, our time in the villages, our squad, our personal struggles, our future countries and more for an hour and a half. That is the longest I have ever been able to focus while praying and left feeling so encouraged!
5. Moto Rides and Indian Friends
While walking from house to house in the villages, I always bothered our translator with questions about his life. Throughout the week we had the opportunity to hear his many testimonies of healing. Near the end of the week my friend Nora and I asked for a moto ride, so he took us up the street to his village where I got to meet some of the people he had testified about… stories of healing from being paralyzed or raised from the dead. People came from all over to attend this tiny church because they had heard of the miracles there- something truly straight the book of Acts!
