This is true. This past Sunday, was one of the longest days
I’ve ever experienced in my life. Living in a rural village in general is a
very simple kind of lifestyle. And each day feels like it is 36 hours. But this
day in particular was crazy busy. I’ll give you a short run down of what it
looked like:
9:30am Leave to church on foot…find a rickshaw
alongside the road and cram 15 people into a vehicle meant for 5.
10:30 am Drink a shot glass of chai tea, eat ginger
fudge, and crackers…start church service…we sing a few songs, I gave a sermon
on “following God no matter what”, and we prayed for almost every member of the
church. 3 people approached us and said they wanted to get baptized that day!
1pm Church ends and we wait for the other team to
meet us for lunch at Pastor Moses’ church.
2pm Lunch time: Roti, cucumber chutney that will
burn a hole in your throat, rice, masala, potatoes.
2-4pm We wait for the church members and a vehicle
to take us to the river. Again we jam 16 people into a rickshaw and trudged down
the road.
5pm I got the chance to be the one to baptize two
elderly women from the church. They looked to be about 80 years old.
5:30pm we walk to a hostel out in the middle of nowhere;
meet some kids; and find a 7 ft long snake. Also found flowers that smelled
like Pixy six!!
7pm– Arrive back into the village and prepare for
night service
7:45-9:30– open air preaching in the middle of a
dirt road
9:45pm– Eat dinner.
10:30– shower in my swim suit and debrief about the
longest day ever.
11:45pm– passed out in my tent under the starry
night.
So into the water I went to help baptize people. There is
something very powerful and unseen in baptism. I never really witnessed the
intensity of it until I was the one saying: “In the name of the father, the
son, and the Holy Spirit.” And as I was standing waste deep in dirty, warm
water in the middle of nowhere in India it dawned on me how big God really is.
That he really is in the depths of the river, and cares about his creation
enough to bring his spirit to the heart of these two old women. And I was
amazed that I was the one to be used by him. So as I plodded out of the water,
with wet pants suctioning to my skin, I realized once again how much God loves
me. God is a glorious God and he cares
enough about you too. Wherever you are in this world, he is there with you.
“When you pass through
the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will
not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the
flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2
