This particular trip is a hard one to summarise, as it is full of surprises and emotions. One thing for sure is how blessed we really were to take out a team that the Lord melted together in such a way that it would seem hard to replicate!
While the extra work may have been harder in the planning and the supervision more demanding, the benefits of glorious fellowship was truly remarkable; it just reminded me of how much we actually miss out in 'church' unless we make the effort to spend time with other believers. The fun and laughter that we shared helped us get thru the difficult times and also we allowed ourselves to be 'vulnerable' with one another in the sense of sharing our emotions and could therefore pray for one another at the drop of a hat! If only we could be more open and do that more in our 'churches'.
India and all it's cultural differences has its beauty on one hand and its harsh difficult way of life for the most, is a cruel reminder of the land that is soaked in corruption and idol worship! The good news is that the 'Light of the gospel' is making huge inroads into the communities of rural villages in the state of Tamil Nadu the state in which we serve our all powerful one and only true God! The joy on the faces of those we meet wether old and frail, or young and weak have a hunger for God that I have yet to experience elsewhere (no doubt there are many other places in the world, but I suspect will be of similar backgrounds). The believers seem anxious to wait (often 1.5 or even 2 hours) for our arrival to hear the Word of God preached where else would you see that?, most I suspect would have gone home within 30 mins.
The willingness to be flexible and change the format or simply stop a service to move the children near the front to hear the children's message goes on without a flap, but with a purpose of listening to the message! Ironically it was me who had the problems when the mikes were not working or the sound boards were being tweaked, or this or that was not in the right place because of my western thinking and expectations. Roger had to help me out on one occasion at the gospel meeting by reminding me it was OK to pray for the power to come back on when it was essential (as we had been praying for other more obvious miracles earlier), and we did and …. yes it did come back on! What a training ground, what a test of our faith, what a mighty God we serve!!
A special joy & delight for me was seeing God at work doing what He does best, powerful surprises . Although we faithfully prepare and pray and then act, it is in His strength we go and deliver. To have people respond to the gospel (whether one lost sheep or 50+) stand before you saying those 'salvation words' for the first time is always a glorious site that encourages you beyond words. I am reminded that in the very last service there was a young boy who spoke out those words so beautifully that Pastor Solomon put the mike in front of his mouth so they rang out into the congregation and what seemed like into the whole wide world! We witnessed miracles before our own eyes and we await the feed back and testimonies from all the meetings in due course which will confirm God was at work in the secret things that were not revealed to us at the time.
Finally to see God at work among ourselves during Mission 13 and how He fans into flames the gifts given us that is spoken of in 2 Tim 1:6, what a remarkable demonstration of Gods power and purpose! For some a spirit of boldness, for others a 'time to dance', a word of knowledge, and to witness first hand a miracle of healing and a fresh anointing of the HS.
We as a team would ask that you please pray for the new graduates, new believers, newly baptised converts and in general the work we had the privilege of starting,; for our hardworking pastors with servant hearts who we left behind while we returned to our own culture with heavy hearts. Please pray also for the team who cannot ever be the same again because of the Lords doing during mission 13, that each will seek to strengthen and use the gifts given them as they move among Gods people in the West; ready perhaps to return one day soon to the land of India before the Lord returns! Thank you for your support in what ever way you have given, YOU have made a difference as we become Kingdom builders together.
