Ministry this month was a roller coaster of emotions for our team, but I am so glad we walked through what we did in month 1 of our Race. There are certain individuals that I will carry in my heart forever that I wanted to share with you:
Daniel
This sweet baby boy about 2 years old has fluid in his brain. When we first met him at his family’s home he was all smiles and playfully holding our fingers. I melted over him, he was the first one in India to capture my heart.
Please continue to pray for healing for this precious boy.
Hani
Precious little girl with a type of bone deformity, she is so loving and held my hand throughout the village as we walked house to house praying. When we were playing patty-cake with the other kids she felt she couldn’t do it because she moved slower and her coordination wasn’t spot on but, she was so joyous when I sat down with her encouraged her that she could do it and played at her pace.
Please pray for this darling girls bones to straighten and strengthen.
Amusha
My little ballerina! She started the night so shy but, by the end of the night she was dancing and laughing with all of us. Her spirit is so gentle and the way she loved on us was a true reminder of what child-like faith looks like. She is an orphan in one of the villages we visited, but the heart-felt pastor calls all the orphans his daughters.
Please pray that even though in India it is unlikely she will adopted that she will know in her heart she has a forever home with Jesus.
Renukha
I know you can not see her face in this picture, but oh how I wish you could. She greeted us with the largest smile and I instantly felt connected to her without knowing why. As she shared her prayer request I knew the Lord brought us together that evening. Renukha is pregnant and has a husband that drinks and physically abuses her. We prayed together several times that evening crying together and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak.
Please continue to pray for what the Lord placed on my heart with her; that she have a renewed love for her husband and that she will pray for his heart and to be convicted to stop drinking. God teaches us to pray for and love our enemies and my prayer is through this a door will open for God to redeem their marriage and the next time her husband lays hands on her it is out of love not anger.
Jessica and Ruth
I can close my eyes and still feel the darkness surrounding their house. When we walked through the gate you knew the devil had taken up residency with this family. When I saw these twins standing on the stoop I immediately fell to my knees to hold them. The one little girl in red had tears in her eyes from all the pain she was in, every step was serious work and watching her you could feel her pain. The girls are almost 3 years old and were born pre-maturely and suffered from severe joint pain. There was darkness and emptiness to their eyes my heart was breaking with every tear rolling down her cheeks. We asked the mother what their names were, she had not named them yet. I didn’t know this at the time but it is very common not to name your child until they’re around 3 years old in India. Although I knew in my heart they had identity in Christ, I lost it when I found out their mother hadn’t even named these two blessings. I had to walk away as I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer, I returned to the church and prayed over and over for these two girls. At the end of the service their mother walked in with them and once again I went right over to them to love on them and pray with them in my arms. My team leader, Michelle, was convicted by the Holy Spirit to ask the mom if we could name the babies; she said yes. Our translator and Michelle said the little girl in red I was hurting the most for should be named Jessica; as the Lord redeemed so much in my life and He would do the same for her. We all prayed for her twin sister and the name Ruth was placed on our hearts for her.
Please pray for these sweet girls physical and spiritual healing.
Chinnari
Love and joy beam from this darling girl. There was not a moment she wasn’t attached to one of us. She sat on my lap during snacks, held my hand throughout the village, danced with me during Sunday school, and waved to me throughout the church service. She has the sweetest little face and adorably quiet voice.
Please pray that as she grows up in the church her spirit only grows to be more in touch with the Holy Spirit and she continues to love on others, as she did us, to expand the Kingdom.
Photo Credit : Mikayla Pearson
Esther
We walked to a different place for lunch in hopes to find a bread, parotta, that we fell in love with because our normal place was out of it. Instead we happened upon this Godly and loving little woman. When we sat for lunch she smiled and hugged us, she told our translator to tell us she was a Christian. We sat and asked her questions about how she came to know Jesus 15 years ago. It was an awesome moment to see a woman so boldly proclaiming her love for Christ directly across the street from a large Hindu college.
Please pray for her restaurant to thrive and for other World Race teams to continue to pour into her and dig deeper into her story as they come through Ongole.
Mounibab and Babland
Meet our translators for the month. They are so adorable and beyond in love. They have been married for 5 years and are praying for 12 children, because Jesus had 12 disciples (we told her she is crazy). They met in bible college and Mounibab said she fell in love with him as she watched him lead worship at school. She begged her dad to let her marry him, so they went to Babland’s home, and she asked him to marry her! They both grew up in church and love Jesus a lot, they sing ’10,000 Reasons’ over and over and over again, and constantly take selfies with each other and pictures of one another.
Please pray for them to conceive children as well as grow in their knowledge of the Bible.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE CUTIES!!! Water buffalo and cows roam the streets of India and it was so so so hard for me not to want to pet all of them. Side note though never talk to a momma water buffalo when she is nursing, she will charge you!!!! Still thanking Jesus that she was tied up but, I learned my lesson for sure.
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