The last day of ministry this week was an eventful one! We left our church at 3:20pm to head to a local village an hour away and stopped by a beautiful rock. It resembled Pride Rock, at least to my mind. We sat with a beautiful view of the fields and mountains in the distance, all proclaiming the glory of God.
At 3:40, we drove past (and stopped by) about 15 monkeys by a temple. It was like the zoo, but better! My teammate Tyler said it was the best moment in his life—and yes, that monkey is breastfeeding.
At 4 we stopped by a nicer temple and I got the privilege to present the gospel to about 30 students in front of it. I wish I was able to spend more time with them, to learn each and every one of their stories and serve them, but the gospel went forth, and in that I rejoice.
At 4:30 we pulled up to a Hindu-saturated village and presented the gospel and got kicked out of the town. Shake the dust off your feet, I suppose. It’s heartbreaking, however by 4:45 we got to our ministry site for the evening. We sang songs, shared stories from the gospels, and did skits.
We walked around the village and prayed for all who needed prayer and saw the Lord heal and touch the broken. Once again, we were humbled by the generosity of those in the village, receiving tea twice, coffee, and a bottle of juice. Learning much about what Paul was speaking of in truly looking to others interests above your own in Philippians 2—an exhortation that if lived out, would change the very face of Christianity.
6pm: No joke, tonight we prayed over a 3-month-old baby without a name, as custom in India. We end up giving him a name and blessing him. That’s right, my team and I named an Indian baby today. His name is David, and he will be an undignified worshipper after God’s heart!
At the end of the night, we were heading to the Pastor’s house to have dinner and the Holy Spirit led my team and I back to a house we visited so we could encourage a boy who we could see the fire of God on him. His mom had him give us a list of names we could pray for specifically, of family and friends. Her faith reminded me very much of the Centurion in Matthew 8v5-13. When we arrived, there was an idol hanging on their door that wasn’t there before. After encouraging him, we spoke to the lady and were able to hear her story. She went to church growing up but her husband is a Hindu and so she worships many ‘gods’ now. Alison was able to encourage her about a lady named Baby she met in Goa, India two years ago with a similar story.
Baby went to church when she dated the man she married. When they got married he didn’t allow her to attend church or worship Jesus anymore. Her 5-year-old son, Adekia refused to go inside any temple, or eat any food offered up to any idol. Hearing about him, reminded me so much of Daniel who refused to bow down or defile himself with the King’s meat. Baby and her children would pray, read the Bible, and worship when the husband was away. The Holy Spirit brought us back to that hut to encourage her to cling to Jesus and look to Jesus alone. I am reminded of the words of Heidi Baker: “We are sustained by beholding the beauty of His gaze, and we are confident in His cross—His gospel is sufficient.”
A common theme I’m discovering in India, at least these villages in Andhra Pradesh, is that many people worship Jesus as well as their idols. At first, I was infuriated. And then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me of my idols I hold on to that daily war against Jesus for lordship over my life. We hide it so well in our security and materialism. What I’m learning on this kingdom journey is the beauty in reaching the end of me, acknowledging my brokenness, and my desperation. David Brainerd said it best when he said, “We are a long time in learning that all our strength and salvation is in God.”
