So as I’ve already written, each day this month we travel to a new village, go to each home and pray for the family that lives there. Then at the end of the day we have a special service.
We always go to the colony of the village where the O.P. (outcast people) Caste, the lowest Caste, live. But a few days ago we also went to a home in the much nicer part of that village, where all the strong Hindu families live. There was a believer who lived in that area that we were visiting to encourage. There was an important government official that lived in a really nice house in that area, and he heard we were around, and invited us in for Tea.
So our team went to his house, with the our translator and the local pastor. The Elder was in charge of 22 villages. Him and his wife lived alone, and their 3 kids had moved to the states. They were really excited to have us over, and showed us all sorts of pictures of their kids. They even gave us a wedding album of their daughter’s wedding to look through. I have to say, we were trying pretty hard not to laugh at some of the pictures and poses. It was a little awkward, sitting there looking through family pictures, not really talking much – he even called up his daugher that lives in pittsburgh on the telephone, and had a couple of us talk to her. I wasn’t really sure what to say.
Though it sounds like a super awkward situation, we’ve gotten pretty used to those by now, so really it was just a great chance to hang out with an influential family in the area. We prayed for the couple and their kids before we left. Later in the evening, both before and after the service, we ended up going to 2 more village elder’s houses, because of that visit.
By the end of the day, the pastors in the area that were with us were really excited about the doors that had been opened. They said that the day had really helped develop a relationship with these Hindu families of the higher Caste that they are normally not able to socialize with. It was something that was really fun to be a part of.
Every day we go to a new village, and sometimes it’s easy to wonder if we’re really having any kind of a permanent impact. But every day we arrive, pray for hundreds of local Indians, and pour into them as much as we can. God has called our team here to encourage and pray for these people, both the believers and unbelievers. So it’s our responsibility to respond to that call, and leave the rest up to the Lord. Go hard or go home. I believe God is using us to encourage others doing His work there, and that even with one day we can have a lasting impact.
Our Team Leader John has challenged us to hit the bed every night with absolutely nothing left in the tank. Today I got to hold a baby that was 12 days old and pray over her. I got to pray for 3 different kids who had vision trouble, a mute child, and a 5 year old that had 4 holes in his heart, as well as under-developed arms and legs – he couldn’t even walk. That’s just to name a few. It’s exhausting – never in my life have I prayed so hard for so many people with such a desire to see God move.
Please pray that the Lord would continue to prepare and soften hearts of the people we’re heading out to visit this next week.
Sorry for such a long post, thanks for following along!
