Here I go making a guest appearance on Sam's blog with an India recap. :) Thanks again to everyone who prayed for and supported me! Here's a link to all of my pics.
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Day 1 & 2
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Day 1 & 2
We arrived in Delhi at around 2 am after 10 hours in the air, a 4 hour layover in Germany, and another 7 hours on the plane. The city was still quite alive and moving even at this time. I got my first taste if traffic in India, and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. The lanes painted on the streets were merely suggestions as cars, rickshaws, bicycles, and motorcycles weaved in and out coming within inches of each other. Outside the city cows and water buffaloes also took their spot in the traffic. Horns honked consistently; not an angry honk like in the US, but it's encouraged and appreciated to let the other drivers know about your presence. As we approached our hotel we saw six stray dogs roaming around and eating the trash in the alley. I'm told that there are some really beautiful hotels in Delhi; however, we weren't there to be pampered so we crashed in a Motel 6 equivalent. I felt like I was in a Jason Bourne movie as we walked down the hotel hallways with most of the power out and a light flickering in the distance providing us just enough light to find our rooms.
I was awakened the next morning by an airplane flying overhead that felt like it was going to rip the roof off our hotel. I didn't quite know what to do when I stepped in the shower and saw a big plastic bucket. I learned that to take a shower you fill a bucket with water and then use a smaller pitcher to get water out of the bucket and wash the soap off. Some of our team had hot water but nothing but cold water for us for some reason. :) Breakfast brought my first taste of chai (tea) and it was delicious! The Indians mix milk with sugar, black tea, and spices. I was unaware at the time but this was the first of MANY cups of tea that I'd consume on the trip. Indians love their tea and I'll admit I had withdrawals after returning to the states.
The first couple days involved travel and getting some sleep. More to come....
Day 3
Today started with a time of training and prayer. We met the local Indian pastors who were going to take us to multiple appointments throughout the week to meet people. For lunch we ate rice, butter chicken, and naan. I could eat Indian food for every meal - it was that good! One of the translators prayed passionately in Hindi for our meal. My eyes teared up as I thought about how cool it was that he was praying to the same God as we sat in a room on the other side of the world.
At night we headed to dinner on rickshaws. A rickshaw is a guy peddling a bicycle that's attached to a 2-person seat with wheels. Wow, I got my feel for Indian travel as horns blared, motorcycles and cars zipped past, and I knew it was just a matter of time before we got hit. Surprisingly it's somewhat controlled chaos because everyone is used to this abstract way of commuting. We saw fewer accidents than we would in the states given the massive amount of vehicles on the roads. I was surprised to see a husband and his wife holding her BABY on a motorcycle and of course none of them were wearing helmets! I laughed that in the states I often worry that I should have tightened Avery's car seat one notch tighter!
Everywhere we went the Indians stared at us because they were shocked to see white people. They don't see tourists in Kanpur very often. It's not rude to stare in India so it was amusing to be stared down everywhere we went. The nights always ended with brushing your teeth with bottled water. We had to be very careful not to drink any local water or get it in our eyes.
Today we went out in teams of 2 Americans and 2 translators to local gatherings of mostly believers in Jesus. We took a car about an hour and half on dirt roads to the villages in Unnau. To say the roads were bumpy would be an understatement. We got to the first church which was an open air brick structure with an aluminum covering and tarps acting as doors/windows. There were about 50 people with women and children sitting on the right and men sitting on the left. They put folding chairs at the front and told us that we were in charge. :) My friend shared the gospel using a cube that shows pictures to go along with the story, I told them how and when I came into a personal relationship with Jesus, and then I told them a couple of stories from the Bible (Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with a handful of food and Jesus healing a man born blind). We sang a worship song with them in Hindi. An older gentleman played a drum that you hold and beat both ends. It was great singing with them, and they went out of their way to make us feel welcome. I prayed that they were encouraged by our visit and what God put on our hearts to share with them.
Then we went to a village about 20 minutes away. This was a much smaller mud/straw hut with about 10 people packed in. They laid tarps down outside the door and about 15 sat on the tarps and listened from out there. I shared the gospel and my friend shared her testimony. I had been praying that God would use me to perform a physical healing for someone on the trip like in the book of Acts. I saw a man whose eyes didn't look normal and I immediately felt a connection with him. We asked if there was anyone who needed prayer for healing. Someone grabbed the man and led him toward us. It was apparent that he was blind. I laid hands on him and prayed in the name of Jesus that He would be healed. Tears rolled down my face as it was a very emotional time. I never felt like that before and I just knew that God would heal him. We finished praying and they helped him up. I looked at him really expecting him to be able to see, but he was still blind. I sat there confused and a bit disappointed. When you listen to most people's testimonies in India they either came to beleive in Jesus because they were physically healed, or they had a dream where God revealed something to them. Healings and visions freak most of us Americans out, but God continues to work through those avenues like he did in biblical times and very much so in India.
Last night we took a train (about 5 hours) to Kanpur. Some of the scenes that I viewed out the bus window broke my heart. People living in tent communities surrounded by trash and many living in straw/mud huts. India has many beautiful cities and places; however, Kanpur is not one of them. When we told people on the plane that we were going to Kanpur they were confused as to why we would want to go there. There's a lot of poverty and the moment you walked outside you could taste the dust and pollution.
When we got to Kanpur, we met the Indian translators and pastors that we would be working with. Each of us had a translator with us at all times since most people didn't speak English in the villages. I was surprised to hear that most of the translators traveled more than 24 hours by train to meet us. Many came from down south and made the trip because they knew that most in this area had never heard of Jesus and what He did for them. It was encouraging to me to hear that our Indian friends traveled so far with the same mission: to reach the unreached in love. Our translators risked a lot to join us as it is not popular to be Christian in a predominately Hindu country. Once you experience a new life in Christ you can't help but want to share it with others.
Day 4
When we got to Kanpur, we met the Indian translators and pastors that we would be working with. Each of us had a translator with us at all times since most people didn't speak English in the villages. I was surprised to hear that most of the translators traveled more than 24 hours by train to meet us. Many came from down south and made the trip because they knew that most in this area had never heard of Jesus and what He did for them. It was encouraging to me to hear that our Indian friends traveled so far with the same mission: to reach the unreached in love. Our translators risked a lot to join us as it is not popular to be Christian in a predominately Hindu country. Once you experience a new life in Christ you can't help but want to share it with others.
Day 4
Today started with a time of training and prayer. We met the local Indian pastors who were going to take us to multiple appointments throughout the week to meet people. For lunch we ate rice, butter chicken, and naan. I could eat Indian food for every meal - it was that good! One of the translators prayed passionately in Hindi for our meal. My eyes teared up as I thought about how cool it was that he was praying to the same God as we sat in a room on the other side of the world.
At night we headed to dinner on rickshaws. A rickshaw is a guy peddling a bicycle that's attached to a 2-person seat with wheels. Wow, I got my feel for Indian travel as horns blared, motorcycles and cars zipped past, and I knew it was just a matter of time before we got hit. Surprisingly it's somewhat controlled chaos because everyone is used to this abstract way of commuting. We saw fewer accidents than we would in the states given the massive amount of vehicles on the roads. I was surprised to see a husband and his wife holding her BABY on a motorcycle and of course none of them were wearing helmets! I laughed that in the states I often worry that I should have tightened Avery's car seat one notch tighter!
Everywhere we went the Indians stared at us because they were shocked to see white people. They don't see tourists in Kanpur very often. It's not rude to stare in India so it was amusing to be stared down everywhere we went. The nights always ended with brushing your teeth with bottled water. We had to be very careful not to drink any local water or get it in our eyes.
Day 5
Today we went out in teams of 2 Americans and 2 translators to local gatherings of mostly believers in Jesus. We took a car about an hour and half on dirt roads to the villages in Unnau. To say the roads were bumpy would be an understatement. We got to the first church which was an open air brick structure with an aluminum covering and tarps acting as doors/windows. There were about 50 people with women and children sitting on the right and men sitting on the left. They put folding chairs at the front and told us that we were in charge. :) My friend shared the gospel using a cube that shows pictures to go along with the story, I told them how and when I came into a personal relationship with Jesus, and then I told them a couple of stories from the Bible (Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with a handful of food and Jesus healing a man born blind). We sang a worship song with them in Hindi. An older gentleman played a drum that you hold and beat both ends. It was great singing with them, and they went out of their way to make us feel welcome. I prayed that they were encouraged by our visit and what God put on our hearts to share with them.
Then we went to a village about 20 minutes away. This was a much smaller mud/straw hut with about 10 people packed in. They laid tarps down outside the door and about 15 sat on the tarps and listened from out there. I shared the gospel and my friend shared her testimony. I had been praying that God would use me to perform a physical healing for someone on the trip like in the book of Acts. I saw a man whose eyes didn't look normal and I immediately felt a connection with him. We asked if there was anyone who needed prayer for healing. Someone grabbed the man and led him toward us. It was apparent that he was blind. I laid hands on him and prayed in the name of Jesus that He would be healed. Tears rolled down my face as it was a very emotional time. I never felt like that before and I just knew that God would heal him. We finished praying and they helped him up. I looked at him really expecting him to be able to see, but he was still blind. I sat there confused and a bit disappointed. When you listen to most people's testimonies in India they either came to beleive in Jesus because they were physically healed, or they had a dream where God revealed something to them. Healings and visions freak most of us Americans out, but God continues to work through those avenues like he did in biblical times and very much so in India.
After talking to more people from my team that day I realized that God asks us to be persistent in prayer and to continue to have faith. God might choose to heal physically on the spot, or he might want to do more work in us before healing to deepen our knowledge of him and our relationship with him. And sometimes God heals in different ways besides physical healing. At another house we prayed for a crippled man to walk. God did not heal him that day but the man said that after we prayed he gained confidence that he would walk someday. God taught me that HE knows what we need and WHEN we need it and that He will provide in HIS timing. And that we must continue to pray and have faith that He will heal, and then get up and do it again the next day. The Father knows best how to teach and train His sons and daughters because He sees from a different vantage point; A much higher vantage point with the big panoramic picture in view.
Day 6
Today my team visited homes in the city of Kanpur. We arrived at the first home and I shared the gospel with about 10 people. Many said they believed and wanted to put their faith in Jesus. It was illegal for us to ask anyone if they wanted to believe in Jesus so we always turned that part over to our local translators. A man from that house wanted us to tell the story at his friends house. When we asked everyone if they had ever heard this story before and most people said no everywhere we went. They had never heard of how Jesus did not deserve to die but offered his life for us. They were amazed that they were being offered this gift for FREE and it did not require them to earn it by doing a bunch of good things or being a good person. That just had to recieve the free gift and believe. It was exciting to be the first people to share this good news with them! At the next home we shared with about 16 people. Many of them where children that had been out in the streets playing cricket. We gave them little cards that had pictures on it to demonstrate man's sin, Jesus dying to pay for our sin, Jesus rising from the dead, a cross showing how Jesus provides the way to God, and then two hands shaking symbolizing a personal relationship with Jesus. We handed the cards out to almost everyone we shared with and told them to share the story with at least one other person. We asked if anyone would want to practice telling the story and we almost always had someone volunteer.
Today my team visited homes in the city of Kanpur. We arrived at the first home and I shared the gospel with about 10 people. Many said they believed and wanted to put their faith in Jesus. It was illegal for us to ask anyone if they wanted to believe in Jesus so we always turned that part over to our local translators. A man from that house wanted us to tell the story at his friends house. When we asked everyone if they had ever heard this story before and most people said no everywhere we went. They had never heard of how Jesus did not deserve to die but offered his life for us. They were amazed that they were being offered this gift for FREE and it did not require them to earn it by doing a bunch of good things or being a good person. That just had to recieve the free gift and believe. It was exciting to be the first people to share this good news with them! At the next home we shared with about 16 people. Many of them where children that had been out in the streets playing cricket. We gave them little cards that had pictures on it to demonstrate man's sin, Jesus dying to pay for our sin, Jesus rising from the dead, a cross showing how Jesus provides the way to God, and then two hands shaking symbolizing a personal relationship with Jesus. We handed the cards out to almost everyone we shared with and told them to share the story with at least one other person. We asked if anyone would want to practice telling the story and we almost always had someone volunteer.
We returned to the house we visited previously with the crippled man. He decided to put his trust and hope in Jesus yesterday and today you could see the change on his face and in his body language. He was holding the little gospel card that we had given him and he had told his friends. We determined that he was the right person to start a house church so we gave him a solar powered device that played over 60 stories from the Bible, taught him how to use it, and had him practice asking his friends questions about the story. We knew that we were only there for a short time and that in order for the house church to survive it had to be led and fed by local believers. We visited another home that we were invited to and spent some time with them. One lady needed reading glasses so we were able to give her a pair. Of course we always ended with some snacks or sweets and hot chai! The Indians know how to treat their guests!
Day 7
At our first appointmet that our local pastor had setup there were about 10 people. We entered into a dark room in their hut and noticed many Hindu idols on display. After telling them about Jesus they said it wasn't for them because they have friends who became Christians and they got rid of their idols and were the talk of the village. We said no problem, enjoyed some tea with them, thanked them for their hospitality, and then we headed to the next stop.
We visited more homes that were very receptive to the message. We must have prayed for 15 people or so. Everyone wanted to be prayed for various things so they just kept coming. :) Many indicated that they wanted to follow Christ; however, I was a bit skeptical because at times we heard coversations that made it apparent that many were adding Jesus to their list of other gods. This troubled me until I had conversations with my friend Brad who said that in the US we tend to separate evangelism and discipleship and make conversion an event instead of a process. Some folks come to faith in an instant. But most have some teaching and understanding of Christ / God before they "decide" and at some point in the process a light turns on and they truly understand what it means to follow Jesus. The people in India truly responded to following Christ, but it will take followup and discipleship to continue to help them understand all of the implications of that decision. We initiated a process that by Gods grace he will bring to completion. After we leave E3's local Indian team will follow up with the people who decided to follow Christ, encourage them, and answer any questions that they have. It was a great couple of days!
Day 8
A couple of our team members were sick so I switched teams and went to a village in Unnao with the leader of our trip Al from E3. This is a village that another team had visited yesterday and found that the people there were very receptive to the gospel. Today they brought more friends and family members to learn about Jesus. I shared the gospel with a group of people and as I was sharing I noticed one that man's eyes were lighting up and he was leaned forward like he couldn't wait to hear what was next. You could tell that God was working in his life in that very moment. Our translators asked if anyone wanted to believe in Jesus and this man, among many others, raised his hand. Our translator prayed a prayer that they repeated. The man (who's name was Bhola), came up to me and said "I can't believe that you came all this way to tell us this story". He had a sense of amazement and thankfulness in his voice. We also handed out some Bible's to the few who could read (many were illiterate). It was awesome to see them thumbing through the pages and starting do dive in.
We asked Bhola to lead us through the village so that we could pray. We walked and prayed that God would move in this village and that peoples lives would be transformed. As we were walking many people came out of their homes and were interested in what we were doing in their village. After walking for a while we came to opening shaded by a large tree. Our translators started singing praise songs in Hindi. I don't know if it was the singing or the crazy white boy swaying back and forth while clapping but people came out of nowhere. Before we knew it there must have been 50 people gathered around! I shared how Jesus provides the way back to God because of his death on a cross and many decided that they also wanted to accept this free gift, which leads to eternal life in heaven.
After I shared we asked Bohla to play a Bible story from the solar powered audio Bible that we gave him. After the story he stood up and asked the others questions like "What did you like about this story?"..."What does it say about God and people?"..."How can you apply this to your life?". The answers that came back were often not in sync with the question but it was good start. Their education system does not encourage them to interact so it took some prodding to get them to contribute to the conversation, and when they did talk it didn't always relate to the question. It was a sweet moment for me to have just told many about Jesus (who were hearing about him for the first time), and then have a local Indian lead a small group Bible study for the first time.
Day 9
We went back to Bohla's village today because we really wanted to try to invest in that body of new believers instead of moving to another village. We really felt like God was moving here and that we needed to spend more time with them. We shared bible stories, testimonies, and the gospel with even more people. We had Bohla lead another bible study and familiarize himself with the process. As I listed to the conversations I looked around and realized that I was experiencing a day in the life of these villagers. A teenage boy walked past leading a cow to help plow the rice fields. A water buffalo stood a few feet away munching some type of grass. A large monkey jumped from the roof of one of the huts onto the roof of our hut! To my left a small boy drew water from the well and poured it over his body to get cleaned after working in the field. An old lady walked by with a large stack of rice stalk on her head. Another woman returned from kneading cow patties that would be used for cooking fuel, and yet anther returned from the fields after a hard days work cutting rice stalk with a sharp metal tool. It was so contradictory to see these women dressed in beautifully bright colored saris out in the field doing manual labor. I took a minute and simply soaked it all in.
Another American team was at a nearby village and they were going to baptize around 14 new believers today! We said our goodbyes and headed to that village in hopes that we could catch the baptisms. We didn't get there in time, but we heard it was an amazing time as these men and women walked past their friends and families and were baptized in what we would consider a very dirty body of water. It didn't bother them one bit. They were splashing around as their faces were brimming with smiles. When we arrived at the village there were TONS of people (practically the entire village) sitting on tarps and singing songs about Jesus in Hindi. It was a great experience as I clapped and danced around and the kids looked at me and laughed. What a way to end our last day in the field!
I'm sure you're ready to unsubscribe by now since I've sent so many emails so I'll cram it all into this last one. As part of our cover for being in the country, and because it was awesome, we visited the Taj Mahal on our way back. I was blown away at how beautiful and massive it was! It took 22 years to build and 22,000 worked on it. The detail is crazy!
Thanks again for your prayers and support! God was glorified as we took the name of Jesus to people who had never heard it before. Some lives were definitely changed and others took the first step and need more time to digest and grow. Please pray that others would travel to India to this wonderful unreached people group. Please pray that those who we came in contact with would continue to grow in the Lord and He would do might things in India. Please pray for the local Indians as they follow up with the people that we shared life with for such a short time. To God be the glory!
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