The purpose of this writing is to sit here and reflect, on nothing in particular. You see I've been sitting here for the last 2 weeks trying to come up with something to write, some amazing story that I can post a blog about, yet nothing seems to come…I haven't really been "processing" anything this month so to speak and because of that writing just hasn't come as it naturally does.
However, there have been so many things that God has done over the last 2 weeks that I am extremely ecstatic about, yet I just can't seem to get any of the stories across to share with any of you. Just to name a few things God has done since we've been in India:
-As a team during our church services that we've held in churches and in the streets a few nights a week, we've seen somewhere close to 100 salvations, and numerous healings.
-Our team works like a well oiled rig although we've only been working together for close to 2 weeks.
-God has taught me so much about following, leading, and building relationships with my teammates and the contacts we are working with in India.
-I've watched God show his love to a few hundred christians and hindus, many of them crying as they experience Gods love for the first time.
-I've watched my teammates grow and step out into stormy waters and unknown territory in faith believing God will catch them, and He's been faithful every time.
-I've fallen in love with the people here in India, the culture, and the food.
Looking at the last 2 weeks God has done so much, yet for some reason I don't seem to have the words to write to put it all together. This is very unnatural for me, as many of you know I always have something to say or write. I find myself having a hard time putting each week into something that would be worth a read, yet to anyone who reads my blog all of these things listed above would be worth the read.
I could tell you story upon story of how I've see the Lord move in India. He's moved around us, in us, and through us. I've personally been blessed by so many people that I get to share life with here at the orphanage we live at. Ramesh is the care taker and serves us all in humility with a heart of a true believer, he's a man of faith, and always seeks the fire of God. Everytime I see him he wants me to pray for him and won't let me leave till I lay my hands on his head and bless him. We've formed a special bond and spent one saturday afternoon talking and praying for upwards of 3 hours.
Then there is this older guy we call "security" or "the watchman". The dude is a Indian man in his 50's that doesn't speak one word of english….yet tries to talk to us constantly in Telegu. When he realizes that we have no idea what he says, he'll try to act out what he's trying to say, it's hilarious playing charades(sp?) with him everyday. He often invades my bubble just to stand close to me, and will just sit there 1 foot away watching you especially if you are typing something, or sitting in a hammock. The man to me is the greatest reflection of Jesus in a person I have ever seen. He serves us constantly, and he's always patrolling around tending to the water buffalo, the children, and watching over everything here at the orphanage. Often times I've looked out our window just to see him standing there watching us, its creepy in a good way knowing he's always interested in what we are doing.
What about the children that have effected my life here? Gopi(pronounced GO-PEE) is a young boy who's parents are dead and missing. He watched his father hang himself and his mother went missing shortly there after. The boy is full of energy, life, and love, and always tries to talk to us even though he doesn't know what we are saying nor do we understand him. There are other boys here too who's names I can't even pronounce so we've just given them nicknames. Like playboy. Named for one of the only shirts he owns that says playboy on the front.
How about the young girls that are here as well? Always laughing and giggling as they play together in the fields and on the steps near our rooms. They always and I mean always address me as "brah-dur" and never let me forget that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are always so full of life, love, and are always laughing.
How about some of the pastors that we've worked with? One guy in particular who we call the "electrician" since he fixed the fan in our room late one night. After shocking himself a few times he told me he's not just a pastor, he's an electrician….riiiiiiight. He's always leading worship and yells during prayer saying "da da da da bu bu bu bu bu bu na na na na" I thought it was tongues or something but our contact Pastor Issac says he's just humming… interesting.
How could I forget Pastor Issac. The man of God who serves us everyday and drives 40 minutes one way from his home to get us and take us to ministry each night. His beautiful wife and kids are a joy for us as well and we've spent a few days with them at their home. He's a servant to us all and interprets each night as we speak. What an amazing man of God.
How can I forget pastor ninja! I think his name is Wilson, who really knows though but the guy is like Issacs right hand man. He always just appears out of nowhere and then disappears again. He's always bringing Issacs daughter to us and she'll just randomly appear at a store or something with us and we have no idea how she got there. She'll just say "that man(referring to ninja) brought me here". This pastor serves us whole heartedly as well and is the caretaker for the next few days cooking and feeding for us as Ramesh is 100 kilometers away with his wife and child "song of victory". Speaking of her, "song of victory" has an amazing story marked by the faith of Ramesh and his wife who like Hannah(1 Samuel 1) pleaded with God for a baby. After 7 years of prayer, their promise was born and they named her "song of victory" as the triumphant praise to the Lord for His faithfulness.
There are so many more stories of the people here that faithfully serve us on a daily basis, such as the church we spoke at tonight. Currently its 12:21am and we just got back from a 115 kilometer(roughly 70 miles) round trip journey to a church in a small village. The members there met at 7-8pm and we didn't even start speaking till 9 or so. They served us chai, mangos, and pointed the only 2 rotating fans on our team as we worshiped and shared our testimonies and preached. God healed numerous people tonight and we prayed for everyone in the church as well as a few of the neighbors and anyone else that came for prayer at the end of the service. The people in India are hungry for God and are some of the most amazing people I have ever met, I am sure that over the course of the next 2 weeks I'll have a few dozen more stories to share about this amazing country and it's beautiful people.
