It’s time to pack up and head to Nepal. Month one is done. It’s pretty surreal. It went by so slow. It went by so fast. It was relaxing. It was chaotic. But what was it all about?
We preached sermon after sermon in village after village. We shared our raw testimonies to both strangers and eachother. There was a moment when our boys danced inside a circle of 100 onlookers to techno music at a park. There were those moments when we laid hands on people to pray and they were healed of sickness and pain.
The roads here overflow with cars, goats, ducks and cows. There is a different strong smell around every corner. You have heard about the well being dug, you know of the terrorist group and the prosecution of the pastors we were working with. We fell in love with our host family and cried as we said good-bye knowing we would probably never see them face to face there in that house in that village ever again. Life here will go on when we leave and we have ten more stops to make.
One thing I do know is that the Lord is evident here. He is here. Among the many false gods, the demons…. He is moving. He is moving through healings and vissions and growth in churches. Christianity may be the minority here, but these people have victory in Him without having to be the majority.
Our last ten days here have happened to be during the festival of Genesh. Genesh (pictured above) is one of the Hindu deities and is the lord of good fortune who brings prosperity. This ten day festival revolves around thousands of clay Genesh idols being purchased and set out publicly around the city/villages and also privately in people’s homes. Often while driving around we have seen people gathered infront of the idols dancing to music and covering themselves in paint.
Others bring offerings, burn incense, and chant Hindu hyms before Ganesh’s feet. On the tenth day of the festival the Ganesh idols are carried in procession with music and chanting to a near body of water where it is submerged. It is believed that the clay Ganesh will dissolve, sending him back to Mount Kailash.
People are under the impression that by doing this they are brought prosperity and obstacles in life will be removed. This is the majority of India. The Christian minorities live in this culture. I am encouraged by them. Not because they have people throwing clay idols into water and still choose to follow Jesus. But because in a place where worshipping false gods is so prominent, so is spiritual warfare and demons. Those false gods ARE demons. These Christians live in areas where demons are essentially welcomed by the mass population.
I have loved doing ministry this month. Every sermon, every testimony, every prayer. If it reaches even one more person in the crowd of dark faces staring at you it is worth it. A fire cannot grow if it is not lit.
This is how I invision India:
A mass of darkness. Then you see a spark. A torch of small light that passes to the next person’s and illuminates it. It spreads slowly, but it does infact spread. Missions is not always about seeing the long-term effects. However, there would never be any if seeds were never planted. If the soil was never prepared and if torches were never lit. I know for certain that in this month there have been Indians who have finally lit their torches.
And each time we let them know the most important thing:
“You are chosen as a child of God to spread this news. Tell someone! Someone at home, someone at school, someone at work. Tell them what you know.”
It doesn’t matter what the majority is doing. God loves them too, go light those torches.
