Ministry looks a little different every day here in India. Instead of working with one set ministry, we have been partnering with multiple ministries throughout the city.
Every day, a few people from our group go to an after-school program to tutor around 30 children. We work on homework for 2 hours and then play games and sing songs for 1 hour.
Even though there was no tutoring on Sunday, we were still invited to come and host a mini VBS for the children. My role was telling the Bible story. (My teaching experience makes this one of my strong areas. Fun fact: my teammates shared that I have a very distinct “teacher voice” that gets turned on. It’s apparently 2 octaves higher than my normal voice and with a stronger southern accent.)
We decided to share the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace in Daniel 3. This story had two main points. First, God will protect us in times of trouble. Second, we should worship ONLY the one true God.
India is a predominantly Hindu culture, meaning that most children grow up surrounded by idols. There is a lot of spiritual darkness that needs the light of Jesus. There is a man-made god for any need that they have. On top of that, this past weekend was a holiday celebrating Ganesh, one of the biggest Hindu gods.
Because of the holiday, the children did not have school on Thursday. We planned another mini VBS for the kids. We wanted to share a story that they had not heard before, so I told them the story of the Lord raining down fire in response to Elijah’s prayer in 1 Kings 18.
I didn’t realize until I was in the middle of sharing the story that the stories had two common themes- fire and other gods. In both stories, God saved His children who stood apart from the crowd to obey His commands. One story used fire for intended harm, while the other used fire to show the power of God. God was praised through both instances. People turned away from the false gods and believed.
My goal is for these children to know God and be saved from the eternal fires. I pray that they worship the one true God no matter what the culture around them says. I trust that the Holy Spirit will move like wildfire through these children, this community, and this country.
