So I’m laying here covered in sweat trying to take a nap but to no avail. Every day there are scheduled power outages that shut off the fans in our room that make taking a nap nearly impossible. We take naps during the day sometimes because we do ministry at night and the afternoon is the perfect time to rest and usually the power is on and the fans are rolling so we take full advantage.
Let me set the scene for you for where we live this month. It seems you can see for miles, there are palm trees draping the horizon, the sun is hot and its 105 degrees and you can’t see people anywhere near us. We are in the middle of nowhere and you can only hear the distant train a couple miles away. Our home is an orphanage ran by our ministry contact Pastor Isaac situated in the coastal area of Andhra Pradesh in the middle of nowheresville. There are 1.2 billion people in India and there is not a soul in sight. How is that even possible?
Andhra Pradesh is just south east of one of the most persecuted areas in the world for Christians, Orissa India. If you have ever read the publication The Voice of the Martyr’s you would have read about the many Christians that have been killed in the name of Jesus Christ. In Orissa the persecution is rampant and very real. We have been told that there is persecution in Andhra Pradesh as well but just not as much and not as bad. So I assure you we are in a safe place, we just have to be wise.
Coming into a new continent with a new team and with a new passion, I come with great expectation for what the Lord is going to do in and through our team. This month our team is separated from everyone else, which I believe it is a very good thing because it’s a great opportunity to bond with everyone and come together in unity. Our name for the team which we all agreed on is (The Chosen ones). We were all handpicked by God. It’s simple statement but a powerful one.
Most of the nights our team goes into the surrounding villages to pray for the sick and to preach the gospel. If I had a choice for ministry this month, this is what I would choose. My heart is for the sick and the lost. Our first night of ministry was a busy one.
The first of our locations was a house church we went to in a small village. We prayed for all the brand new believers and the many needs they were praying for. It was encouraging to see the faith of these people asking for prayer because just as God meets my needs, I know the Lord would come through for them and meet all of their needs. Our team prayed for a lot of people that night. Most of the people we would come in contact with were practicing Hindu’s. I don’t know much about the religion other than that they worship million different gods and idols. They are very sweet and loving people who were very open to prayer and the gospel. I know when our love reflects the love of Christ, it never fails and those people are closer to the kingdom than they were before.
To wind down the night we would take a short ride to the worship meeting they were having on the other side of the village to share God’s word and a testimony.
When we arrived I knew the Holy Spirit was all over that place. People were singing and worshiping in their local tongue which I believe was (telegu) There was a passion in those people that I have not seen the entire night.
Brad opened with worship with a couple of English worship songs. Our God is greater and one thing remains. After we worshiped I gave my short testimony and preached the gospel and Andy would bring everything to a close with the message and asked those to come forward who wanted prayer or to receive Christ. We all had a part and we were all one as a team. We functioned as a unit. We are The Chosen ones.
To end the night we prayed for people who wanted prayer and healing. As I mentioned before in past blogs, I personally believe as Disciples of Christ when we lay hands on the sick and afflicted God will heal them and we will watch them recover.
As I was about to leave a man came up to me and signaled to me that he was having severe knee pain. I leaned down and wrapped both my hands around his right knee and asked God to heal him……………and nothing happened.
The Lord told me to try again so by faith I tried again. I leaned down and wrapped both of my hands around his knee and started declaring healing over this man’s knee and what happened next came straight from heaven. I felt the ligaments and bones in his knee cap moving and readjusting in his knee. I looked up at him and his face looked astonished, that man had no more pain. And I just witnessed a miracle from God. God moves in powerful ways when we act in faith. That man had no doubt had an encounter with Jesus Christ and my faith had increased and I know I’ll never be the same because of what happened during that encounter with that man.
God is doing a mighty work here and people’s hearts are open. Please continue to pray for our team and the souls that need Jesus.
Matthew 17:20
Because of your little faith, for truly I say to you. If you have the faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.
