If there is one word to summarize my time in India it would be UNFORGETTABLE. My words are too few and far between to try to even capture my time there so I came up with the top things that made my time there utterly amazing! Here it goes.
1. A warm welcome from the kids in the orphanage and the Kodavatikanti family (as shown in the video above).
2. Living with the Kodavatikanti family in the Faith Palace with Holy Prince and Holy Blessing (Pastor Sam and Kamala's son's).
3. Having crowds of children surround me, follow me, hug me, hold my hand and kiss me on the cheek. They looked for me all the time and I have NEVER experienced so many children seeking me out – and I didn't even know them! It was more so with me than any of my other teammates. For the first time, I felt what Jesus would have felt like when he was surrounded by crowds of people that were calling his name. All I kept thinking was – let the children come to me. My love for children has exponentially grown.
4. Going from village to village visiting low and high caste homes and being able to sing songs, present dramas of parables, share testimonies, pray for people who were almost pushing each other to receive prayer! Even the children. We saw men and women possessed by demons, a crippled boy be healed, people receive Jesus as their savior.
5. Providing for a grandma and her grandchildren who live in a "house" made out of pieces of tin and was the size of a walk in closet. The granddaughter and her 3 year old brother lost both their parents to AIDS. The grandma was so desperate to be able to provide for her grandchildren that she was thinking of putting her 14 year old granddaughter into prostitution. When we gave what we can, the grandma said that they were praying that someone would be able to help them out. We were an answer to her desperate prayers. Pastor Sam is making sure that they get what they need.
6. Going to a low caste untouchable community called the ST colony and being able to share communion with them. A woman told us that when she tried to go to the church in the high caste community, they wouldn't let her in. She said all she wanted to do is have communion. When we heard this, we came back so they can have communion for the very first time in their lives. They also expressed that they all wanted bibles. A couple of days after going to the ST colony, Alexandra skyped her parents to tell them about her time in India. It just so happened that their friends were also over. She shared with them that the ST colony all wanted bibles – 60 of them. The bibles were $3 each. Her friends decided to provide all the money. We came back a third time to give them all their bibles. They cried, they laughed, they smiled. All were excited! The children were hugging their bibles. We sang songs and prayed. We, again, were answered prayers!
7. We went into brothels to pray for women in the sex trade industry. They invited us in! Pastor Sam and Kamala have been wanting to go there for a long time. We were praying for a woman in prostitution in front of the brothel that she lived in. After we were done praying, she was so thankful for the prayers that they opened up their homes to us. Alexandra had the chance to pray for the woman in charge of the brothel. We came back to that community at night to share the gospel and one of my teammates shared her testimony that related to being sexually abused. We saw some of the women who were in that brothel come to know the Lord.
8. We went to prison to share the gospel with the murderers, the abusers, the stealers. Many came to know the Lord. The man in the front right, I could tell, that he had a genuine and sincere heart. His eyes were fixed on everything we said. When he prayed, he was praying so hard that as he knelt his head was nearly touching the floor. They loved being prayed for.
9. Visiting the special needs school was fun! We sang songs, prayed with them and a little boy showed me around his classrooms. An older man did a cartwheel for us and I got asked for my phone number by this man on the bottom hahaha. Sweet, beautiful people!
10. Lastly, we had the chance to go on a Andhra Pradesh statewide Christian TV channel to share the gospel! Katie shared her testimony. We sang and told people about what the Lord has been doing through the Good News Prison and Welfare Ministry that Pastor Sam started in 2004. After the segment aired, the next day, we were at a saree store and the workers told me they saw me and my team on TV. Crazy to think that we were able to reach 250,000 people and spread the good news of the gospel!
As of 3/7/13 I need $5,163.52 more to be fully funded!
