Redemption that blows my mind….it pumps me uppp.
Our ministry in India was out in the middle of nowhere. When I say in the middle of nowhere I mean for real…bible times:) We got off our overnight bus in the middle of the night and were met by three men who were our contacts! Little did I know these men would change my life for good. There were villages every ten miles or so. When we first arrived there I was not very pumped at our living situations. We went from internet, airconditioning, hot water and peanut butter to a half constructed house, bucket showers and rice. We had a day of rest then the next day we dove into ministry. It took a little while but once we got these guys comfortable they were never quiet! Pastor R was the pastor of our village– I have never met a more out of control man in my life! He was so passionate and thrilled to have us there that we never wanted to leave. The other two were John David and Rashakar… I like to refer to them as the three stooges. One day I was making an attempt at small talk and it immediately took us to the core of our existence in .5 seconds. I asked them what is one of their life goals…–When I hear this I immediately say skydiving… or touch a raccoon. (raccoon is a different story.. I am deathly afraid)– but they all three at once seem to get a fire in their eyes and got so passionate about the Kingdom that I get chills just thinking about it. They said their goal is to bring the Kingdom to earth. To reach the lost. Scream the name of Jesus from the rooftops. Reach the hundreds of villages around them. I was humbled immediately. The two weeks we were there we got to be a part of bringing their passion to existence. We got to go with them and proclaim the name of Jesus. To pray over the lepers and blind. To love on the lost and brokenhearted. The difference with these men is that they didn’t see it as a week mission trip… or a duty they do every once in awhile… it is a lifestyle.
Thanks to India’s living situation, we were not shocked yet again when we arrived in Nepal and we found out we were sleeping in our sleeping bags and facing the deathly cold bucket baths and.. the oh so famous rice! The language barrier when we arrived in Nepal was a bit intimidating but we found out we were blessed to find a translator at the last minute! We met her early in the morning before we headed out to our ministry site and she changed my life just by existing. She introduced herself and told us she was 17 and a little bit about her background. Although she is merely 17 years old… her faith is far stronger than mine. I can only beg God to give me a fraction of the faith and passion she has. The village that we went to blew my mind even more. We moved in with Pastor T and his family. By Family I mean… His wife, son, 2 daughters and their spouses, nephew, his 4 deaf sisters, his mother and father, his grandmother, his adopted daughter whose father recently passed and mother has a mental disorder, and a cute old lady who has recently been widowed and had no where to go. Throw in seven more of us! Why not! He basically blows my mind. Not only does he have 17 people in his house but he see’s the entire mountain range around him as his family. He eat sleeps and breathes the name of Jesus. This man’s faith will move Nepal into a revival. Every single day he trots up MOUNTAINS just to love on people. To share the name of Jesus… Nepalis are argumentative and it is so easy to become discouraged.. but this man will never give up. He knows his calling. I found myself gasping for air… climbing mountains… and thoroughly discouraged that people didn’t care about my Savior…turns out I never heard him complain. I never saw him stop smiling. I will never be the same again after seeing Pastor T’s passion for the Lord.
Okay so now that you see the skeleton of our ministry and these baller people.. lets dig a little deeper. One of the oh so amazing guys, Rashakar- who will not chill out until India is in a crazy revival– has only known Christ for maybe a decade. He was in utmost rebellion for most of his life. Not only not living for the Lord but sprinting in the opposite direction. He came down with a deadly disease and wasn’t promised a long life… A Christian came to him and prayed for him…. His body showed no sign of any disease after that. Because of the faith of that one person… Rashakar is now one of the most vital people in the Kingdom coming to earth!!!
Our translator is Nepal? She lived in a brothel from birth until the age of 7 when her aunt rescued her–for lack of a better term– and put her into a home that will love and support her along with other women and children with the same experiences. I was almost moved to tears hearing her story and some of the memories engraved in her heart. The Lord rescued her and she is now in on the huge Kingdom dream along with Rashakar… even a country apart.
Pastor T? He shared his story with us.. I imagined it would be a typical “I got saved when I was young.” Nope. Pastor T and his father were witch doctors until the Lord slammed them to the ground (very softly of course). His mother was sick for a very long time and they had tried many times to heal her but it would never work. For years they sought healing in her. A believer prayed over her after years of fighting this disease and she was healed!! Pastor T and his father and mother all surrendered their lives because of this. Generations have been altered because a Christian ceased the opportunity to pray. OH THE POWER OF PRAYER… we as Christians need to change our little “God thank you for this food..” prayers to taking advantage of talking directly to the one who spoke us into being. I get so passionate!!! Freakin Rashakar and Pastor T!!! Our translator is now passionate for the Kingdom because her aunt had a tiny bit of faith that she could save her!! Please comprehend this.
Overall… my life has been changed.. because peoples lives have been changed… by peoples lives who have been changed. Got that? If your life is changed.. you are called to change lives until the Kingdom is all up in hurr!!!! It is coming!
Get pumped.
