Many of us forget that Jesus simply walked around for 3-years, eating, loving, and laughing with the rejects and forgotten people of the world. Josh, Lukas, and I sought to replicate this lifestyle, taking us on an adventure to Sikkim, India. This is an account of that adventure and how WR Expedition is partnering with local workers to extend their influence into the most unreached areas of the World.
The Beginning
There we were, Josh, Lukas, and me, piled in the back of a Jeep with 8 other people. After 7 months of traveling we knew the drill. Pray, pack-up, and go forth being open and expectant. This was not the typical race. This was the World Race Expedition in the 10/40 Window: a deliberate effort to go to the most unreached areas of countries with the fewest Christian resources available.
Day 1
Departing Siliguri, we began our 3-day journey to La Chen, a city that was paid to be Buddhist by the local government. First stop, Gangtok. After 4-hours of bouncing along mountain roads and taking turns leaning forward or backward for shoulder-room, we exited the vehicle and began walking the 1-mile to the central strip. We arrived at some cheap accommodations, dropped our bags, and located at ATM to wait in line for money (India has just cancelled its large bills, resulting in 3-hour waits for a maximum of 33 dollars in new bills). We settled in for the night and tried to sleep between barking dogs and chanting Tibetan monks.
Day 2
After grabbing a quick breakfast of coffee and pastries, we hopped in another jeep and began the second leg of our trip to Mangan. Thanks to some contacts, we knew of a local who owned a place we could stay. When we arrived we quickly assessed our gear and discovered that someone had taken Lukas’ money… a 3-hour ATM wait gone in the blink of an eye. What could we do? Nothing.
Nevertheless, we continued moving and met our contact who gave us food and a place to stay with a gorgeous view of the Himalayans mountains. He explained that we would need a permit to go to La Chen. Thank God, his relative could get us one. Once we located our rooms, Josh and I decided to explore. We knew that a man named Peter lived in this village, but we had no way of contacting him. So, Josh and I headed up the mountain towards a nice home above our lodge. To our surprise, we discovered a couple who spoke English. They invited us in for tea and began asking about our lives. Even more surprising, in the middle of our conversation, the very Peter we heard about walked into the home we were sitting in. After months of seeming “coincidences” just like this, Josh and I simply laughed and took in Peter’s delightful story of how God had worked in His life.
Josh and I with Peter
We finished drinking our tea, then Peter took us to His relatives. Trekking the local foot-hills, Peter explained how Finnish missionaries had come into Sikkim and helped their people – teaching them knitting, quilting, farming techiniques, etc. Unfortunately, freak accidents such as an avalanche crushing a missionary family in their home and a rock from a demolitions project crashing through a ceiling killing one during a sermon caused the remain members to leave. Still, Peter and His relatives continue to carry forth the Gospel message and live humble lives of love in their community. Moreover, we got to enjoy dinner together and pray for his relatives, who expressed a feeling of change and possible healing. Before returning to home base, we took a photo to commemorate the God-inspired meeting.
Day 3
Unsurprisingly, the vehicle heading to La Chen was full; however, our host found a friend who was willing to take us in a cab to our destination – La Chen, the Buddhist city where it was illegal to preach the Gospel. We had been informed through various sources that people who listened to our Gospel message would be beaten by the local authorities if discovered, thus they would probably ignore us. But we decided to go anyway.
After 3-hours, two police check points, and 4-copies of every document we owned, we arrived in La Chen and checked into a freezing hotel. It was a beautiful city. Unfortunately, we would need something miraculous to happen to find an English speaker, much less someone willing to listen to our message.
Peter’s Relatives
As we prayed and walked around the small city, we decided to see stop, close our eyes, and ask God what he would like us to do. Lukas had two words and an image, “Purple cloth.” That’s it. So, we continued walking until we found a man watering his plants. I began speakinging to him and he gestured for us to come with him. Then, Lukas looked at the curtains in the man’s home and said, “Guys . . . that’s it. That’s the purple cloth.” Although we could not communicate, we shared pictures, videos, and milk tea until dark, smiling and chuckling at the ludicrous nature of our adventure. In the end, the man allowed us to pray for him – what an incredible moment.
The Finish Line
Although we froze our butts off that night, we did what we felt called to do and God honored us. He connected us with Peter. He allowed us to encourage Peter and set a path for future teams to follow (Peter and I remain connecting and he is eager to connect with future teams). And He gave us a man to pray for in a completely Buddhist part of India.
The apostles in Acts did not need much time to share the message in an area. They simply walked in expectancy and trusted that the Spirit in them would guide them and use them. In fact, Jesus prepared them to leave if necessary (“shake the dust off your feet…”). We’ll never know on this side of life what God will accomplish through us, but we can all remember the moment someone challenged and changed our perspective for the better. For me, this is heart of the 10/40 Expedition – to allow a journey with God to change your heart and then to pass that change on, moment by moment, to unreached people in the hardest to reach places around the world. Then, depart and trust God to patiently make the seed grow (1 Cor 3:7).
