Last month my team and I spent our evenings in remote villages in Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, India. We drove in a large “auto” to a different nearby village each afternoon and walked around for a few hours. Usually a pastor or church member brought us to the homes of people who needed prayer. We would invite everyone we met to join us for a gathering each night. There we prayed, worshipped, and shared testimonies and a Gospel message.
As a believer in the US, I have never really thought about the privilege it really is to live in a country with the freedom of religion. Throughout my time in India, I was able to meet several brothers and sisters in Christ. Their spiritual journeys have been very different than my own, and some of their struggles are like nothing I’ve faced. But the God we love and serve gives us a firm common ground on which to stand.
Here’s a glimpse of some people God is using in India and their stories:
The man pictured above in all white is an ex-terrorist. He spent most of his life bringing destruction and hardship to others, and hated Christians. But much like Paul in the Bible, God came into his life and thoroughly changed his heart. His grandson had been afflicted by demons and was brought to a pastor for prayer. God healed him (the young man in the center), and later this man and eventually his entire family came to Jesus as a result. Now he is a great witness for the Lord, and shares the joy of Christ in his heart with the people in his village. Praise God!
This woman became a believer many years ago. For years, she was the only person in her village who preached the Gospel. Because of her faith, the body of believers in her village has grown. Recently, she received a vision from the Lord to buy a specific piece of land to build a church. She scraped together her savings and bought the land. Now she and other Christians are slowly building a structure where someday they can praise and worship God together and show their village how the Lord provides for His people.
This 18 year old girl and her siblings heard a message I gave about following God’s plan for our lives even when it doesn’t make sense or seems scary. She came to me asking for prayer for herself and her family at the end of the service. They lost their father a few years ago and now have no one to work and provide for their family. But she is choosing to trust the promise of hope from her Savior.
This sweet couple hosted my team this month in the sanctuary of their church. The husband pastors the small village they live in. He taught me a great deal about giving God our highest honor and reverence. The wife worked hard to serve us delicious home-cooked meals each day. Together, they are fostering ten young girls in the children’s home attached to the church.
Please pray for these and the many other believers we met in India this past month. In a country where only two percent of the population is Christian, Indian believers and foreign missionaries in India face daily persecution for choosing to follow Jesus. Please also pray for those in India who do not yet have the hope we have in Jesus.
