This month, I spent a lot of time with Julie visiting homes in the community praying and encouraging people. There is one lady in particular who always invited us into her home. She is very hospitable–she chills our water bottles, serves us food, and insists that we sit on her bed by the fan. She makes us feel welcome and definitely has a heart for service. She knows very limited English and we never had a translator with us, so it made for some very humorous visits. Every time she would say something that we didn’t understand, it would end in laughter.
[Ashely, Julie, & me on her bed by the fan]
During our first visit, we were getting ready to leave when she pulled out her Bible and song book. She sang us a beautiful song in Telegu and read her favorite Psalm. Then, she pulled out a photo album and showed us pictures of her baptism, marriage, husband, and children. That is when she really began to open up to us. She told us that she is a Christian and her husband is Hindu. She asked us to pray for him as he also struggles with alcoholism. We prayed peace over their marriage and that God would put an end to his addiction.
One morning she came to our place and invited us to come over to her house to eat breakfast. When we got to her house, her husband, children, sister, and nephews were all there visiting for the holiday weekend (Independence Day). They made us some delicious food and we had a great time fellowshipping with the whole family. We took plenty of pictures and prayed blessings over them before we left.
[Julie, Angela, Ashley, & me relaxing after breakfast]
Sunday was our last day in the village, and we had planned a special service for the Christians in the community to come. The plan was to encourage them to continue seeking the Lord and commission them by washing their feet. We invited our beautiful friend among others, and she was the only one who showed up. I was so excited to be able to spend a little more time with her before we left. She sat with me on the porch as I painted her nails, and she was able to join us for the girls’ Bible study. I asked her if I could wash her feet and she agreed, but not before she ran home to get some simple ingredients to make us a delicious sweet treat!
As I washed her feet, I thanked her for the amazing
hospitality she has shown us this month. I encouraged her to continue serving
others and being a light to her community. I prayed that her husband would come
to know the Lord through her and that his addiction would be destroyed. I
prayed for peace and blessings over their marriage. I prayed that the Lord
would continue to anoint her steps and that she would bring change to her
community. I prayed that when she walks past people in the streets, chains and
strongholds would fall off…that the Spirit of the Lord would bring freedom
through her.
[washing her feet]
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
-Romans 10:15
