India 2012 Day 6,7
We awoke to another hot and humid day, but by now we have all grown accustomed to perpetual sweating and the constant stickiness of our clothes. No one has been complaining and we all have fun with it, so we have been blessed not to have allowed it to spoil our joy.
After breakfast and a team devotion, we hopped into the vehicle for a long day of travel. The singing and worship in the vehicle continued as we all lifted up our voices together and praised the Lord during the long hours in the car. We went to the village clinic first, where about 20 people were gathered to receive medical treatment. Kumar gave a tour of the grounds and explained the vision for the future of the village clinic, and then Steve spoke to the people who were gathered together. He shared the gospel with them and asked if any would want to commit their lives to Christ and all of them did. These are very strict hindu people who are hard to reach. The medical camps are very effective because they show the love of Jesus Christ with them and it opens a door to share the good news with them.
From here, we traveled some distance to visit a very small church in an extremely rural community. We pulled up to the church and were all amazed at what we saw. It was nothing more than a hut with an opening so small we had to crouch down to enter in, but as we stepped inside, it was quite larger than it appeared from the outside and was even a lot cooler than the blistering heat. We counted about 85 people, including our team, that fit inside the hut. Cassie Smith shared briefly from John 6 about Jesus coming back for us, followed by Zach Smith teaching from Psalm 65. Billy K then preached a message on how to have joy in the midst of our trials by looking to the promise of the resurrection. The church was strengthened and encouraged by the meeting, and we laid hands on and prayed for everyone there.
The drive back to town was very long, and everyone was glad to get out of the vehicle and relax in Kumar’s home for about an hour before we had to get to the next meeting. It was an open air setting in another strict hindu community. We knew full well that our amplification was sending the message throughout the entire village. Kayla Pratt opened with some encouraging scriptures before Kyle Skinner taught from 1John 4. Then Steve gave them a message from Ephesians 4 about how the body of Christ is supposed to work. Then he boldly shared the gospel with them and several people responded to the altar call. They were very nervous about standing up or identifying themselves in any way because there were many hindus watching. Again, we prayed for all the people before giving out candy to the children.
We took the long ride home and got some laid down to sleep for the last time at Kumar and Jean Mary’s place.
Tuesday was our last day in Rajahmundry, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t squeeze in a little more ministry before hitting the airport! We had planned baptizing some new believers since the beginning of the trip, and today we had the time to do it. We took a slight detour on the way to see some of the Hindu temples that line the Godarvi River. It is the second most holy river in India. A few years back, more than 80 million hindus came to Rajahmundry to take a holy dip in the river. Today, we were going to give a new meaning to some newly converted hindus on what a holy dip in the Godarvi was all about.
We parked the car on a hill overlooking the river, and as we began to make our way down to the water, a herd of water buffalos was also trying to get to the water at the same time and we had to compete with them to go down the trail. Of course, as foreigners, we probably looked silly when we were somewhat intimidated by these huge beasts, because the locals casually shoed them away like cows while snickering at us.
We got to the water safely and waited for the new converts to show up. They arrived shortly after us and we were pleased to see 23 women coming to make a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ. The pastors had already given them instruction on baptism and what it is all about, so we did not have to have a teaching time. We simply prayed with them, and baptized them. Then we gave Bibles to each of them so that they will be able to grow in their knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While we were baptizing, there was a man, his wife, and child nearby tending to their fishing equipment. He was watching everything that was going on and asked if he, too, could have a Bible. Pastor Steve briefly shared with him and gave him not one but two Bibles so that he could give one to someone else as well.
The trip back to Kumar’s place seemed to take forever when everyone had wet shorts and was in need of a shower after braving the murky water. We showered up, packed up, and headed to the airport just in time to get through security and rush onto the plane. A couple of quick jumps on Jet Airways to Hyderabad and finally to Chennai, and we are ready to begin our second week of ministry in india in a whole new city. We’ll keep you posted and begin showing pictures as soon as we have some decent internet service!
Thanks again for your wonderful and faithful prayers for the team. God has been doing incredible work!