So we are finally in India. As most of you know it was quite the struggle to get here, our visas took longer than maybe any persons ever has. I honestly thought we may not get to ever come, but here we are. We have been here almost a week and I have already seen so many beautiful things.
We are working with India Christian Ministries (ICM) and living at the Covenant Worship School Center. We live in a 3-story house with 35 plus men attending the worship school. The first story of the house is classrooms, bedrooms and a worship hall. The second floor is the staff floor, offices and kitchen area. The third floor is our humble abode; we have 2 bedrooms, showers and a living space with couches. We are more than blessed this month. Until you have nothing some months you don’t realize how much the little things mean to you.
In a culture where marriage is arranged, their view towards women is very different than in America. Women have to be covered, in ankle length skirts and covered upper arms and sometimes even your head and face. So needless to say it is hard to do ministry as an all girl team in a house of all men when just even smiling at them means flirting. We got here and they expected an all guys team and to their surprise it was 6 women ready to work. We were told our ministry would be basically praying for 2 hours a day and cleaning because we couldn’t minister with the men. All of us felt trapped, isolated and useless.
As we began the first day, we prayed for ministry opportunities and ways to minister to these men because we know we are here for a reason. Not even a few hours passed and brother Raju (our contact) came to us and said, “we go tonight to minister at 7”. We went to the slums of India shared our testimonies, brought the word and prayed over every person that came. These people are hungry, they are vibrant worshipers and they want God’s spirit. God moved almost immediately because we were obedient and chose not to settle for nothing. The guys in the house have even warmed up to us and have started forming relationships with us. It has been such an amazing change in just one week and I know the rest of the month will be just as powerful.
This is one of the most beautiful cultures I have ever seen or been able to take part in. They have such a vibrant lifestyle. Their clothes are so colorful and bright. Their worship is lively and real. Their food has the utmost kick and spiciness. I love getting to experience people being healed already and praying for people as the spirit takes over in their hearts. It has been powerful already and I know there is more in store.
