Wow. Today was such a busy day of ministry.
We were originally told that we were going to start children’s church at 8:00, so when we all woke up at 7:50, I was a little rushed in getting ready and getting in line with God for the day. Imagine how relieved we were when I talked with Pastor and he told us that because of the rain last night, they would be arriving around 10 or 11. So, we packed up the church, put our lives on the roof, and got dressed for church (all the girls wore our sarees today).
The children arrived right when Pastor said they would, and we began church with songs and games. After an hour, the adults started arriving. It’s Brody’s birthday today, so we celebrated his birthday at the service. The candle on his cake is the coolest candle I’ve EVER seen in my life. You light the candle on the inside, which is actually like 6 candles all together, then in the middle of them, there’s another one that’s like a mini-firecracker. Once it’s lit the candles all pull apart into a flower. It’s difficult to explain, and you probably are so confused as to what I even mean, but just trust me, it was really cool.
Pastor had us all give our testimonies at church, we led a few songs, we gave a drama, I gave a sermon on the lost sheep, and we listened as the members sang a song too! It was a very nice service. We then had lunch and a two-hour break before heading back out to ministry.
Side note: during the two-hour break, I was able to finish C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, and I would really recommend it. Especially the very last few chapters. I will definitely be reading it again because it was so deep.
We went to a backward caste colony today. It’s located on the other side of the mountain. Pastor told us when we got there that they are some of the poorest people. He asked us to go and shake hands with all of them because they are so low in the caste system that people think that they are untouchable. They aren’t shown love, or even acknowledged by society.
Yes, that’s awful. But, it gets worse.
After we had a church service for them (which consisted of songs, a drama, Brody giving a sermon on God being the one true God, me giving a sermon on Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo, and Pastor finishing up with songs), everyone lined up for us to pray for their individual needs.
I prayed for many people with stomach pain, headaches, and fevers. After my line was finished, Brody called me over to pray with him.
There was a man there who had decided to follow Jesus. He told Brody that he would put away his Hindu idols, talk to his family, and turn to follow Jesus (there were a few people tonight who prayed to have Jesus come into their lives – it was SO AWESOME!!). Brody wanted us all to pray for this man’s neck pain and arm. He couldn’t turn his head from side to side – it was completely stiff – and his arm was not able to straighten at his elbow.
We all laid hands on him and prayed. After a few minutes I asked our new translator – Agape – if the man felt anything. He told Agape that he felt his neck loosen up a little. But, that wasn’t good enough for us. We kept at it. Persistence. After a while, Pastor came up to us and asked the man what his ailment was. He told Pastor, and we were told the real cause of his pain.
He has had this pain and struggle for 15 years. It’s because of the water. People around Kanigiri cannot drink the well water because of bacteria. Everyone must buy bottled, purified, or bubbled water. This man is so poor that he can’t buy that water. When I found that out, I was so sad at first. Then, I was angry. So angry. I went through all the emotions of why. It doesn’t make sense. How come people have to deal with this? There are SO many things that we, as Americans, take for granted. Why does this man have to struggle from a disease caused by something as simple as water? Even writing this now, I’m tearing up. I just don’t get it. It’s not fair. It just doesn’t make sense. It makes every other issue that I’ve ever had seem so insignificant.
