I am staying in Sielmat, India. The area is rural and by the mountains. My squad is partnering with Bibles for the World. The history of this organization is amazing! The Hmar tribe are descendants from China. They lived in the remote jungle and did not have a written language. Dr. Rev. Rochunga Pudaite dedicated his whole life to bringing the Word of God to his tribe. He learned English, Hebrew and Greek. He created the written Hmar language and translated the Bible into Hmar. Wow! October 10th was the one-year anniversary of his death. The impact he has made on the community is still evident. Education and Christianity were very important to Dr. Pudaite. The Hmar people are now at least 80% literate and educated. About 70% of the community is Christian. He started a Christian grade school (K-12), a seminary school and a hospital. This is only a short summary of the things he did. If you want more information on his life and this community watch “Beyond the Next Mountain”.
This organization has their hands in so many different things. My ministry this month includes construction of new churches, visiting the grade school and seminary school, hosting medical camps and providing prayer. They have provided every team with a liaison to help with safety and translating. It has only been a week and two days of ministry stick out in my head.
My team (Korban) and the Sisterhood team got to help run a medical camp through the Chirstian Hospital of Sielmat. We visited a Hindu village. This was not the first time the medical team had been to this village. But it was the first time they allowed staff to pray over them. Wow. What an opportunity. I had been praying and hoping for a chance like this. They had an alter right next to our medical camp. It was an experience having to pray for someone when you were literally only a couple feet from their “god”. A squadmate of mine was constantly praying “Holy Spirit fill this place.” I was never afraid while there. God covered us in protection and gave us the words to pray over the people.
Another part of our ministry is to the people of Sielmat. We found a library for children beneath the Wi-Fi café. They are run by the local church and my team showed up to the library to help read to children so they could practice English. I’ve learned that whenever we are invited somewhere expect to be leading the event. My team is awesome! We spent a 2 hours singing songs, dancing, and reading stories to the kids. These kinds of memories are what I long for. It was so refreshing to be with kids and be silly. It’s only month one but I have a feeling that India could be my favorite month.
Many of the youth and young adults come from a Christian family. Their story is similar to mine. They struggle with making Christianity a way of living. They have the knowledge but not the acts or heart for Christ. There is an opportunity for my squad to make an impact on the youth and young adults. Pray that we will be intentional of seeking individuals out. Pray that we will be able to ignite a passion and movement within the community.
Love you all! Thank you for partnering with me and reaching out with your encouraging words.
Kim 🙂
