India, Day 10

After settling into Josh's home in Chennai, we had some wonderful ministry plans for the next week straight. Both Dr Kumar and Josh and his family were absolutely fantastic in the way they treated us and made room for us in their homes. I think we in the U.S. could learn some free lessons on hospitality from the Indian people. As guests in their homes, we were given preference in all things. The best room, the best food, you name it, we were given first dibs. Not only that, but they actually insisted that we take the best room and eat before them, etc. They wouldn't even allow us to argue. Very hospitable people. Roll over Hilton Hotel, I know where I'll be staying from now on.

So the first day of ministry was to hold an all-day pastors meeting with the young, emerging Christian leaders in Chennai. The place we rented out was a beautiful resort on the Indian Ocean about a half hour down the coastline south of Chennai. We had a full day of teaching, worship, games, food, and fellowship all planned out.

The reason for this is that so often the pastors will go to a pastor's meeting and receive a lot of good teaching, but will not get an opportunity to get to know each other. So we wanted to spend the whole day together with a light teaching schedule. This way, they would be able to build lasting relationships for the future of ministry together in Chennai.

The main theme of the entire day was that these young men need to include their wives in their ministry. In India, the women are not respected at all. In fact, many pastors will prioritize God first, ministry second, and family third. Often the wives get left out of the equation entirely. So, in order to change that dynamic, we met with the young emerging leaders and gave them practical, biblical instruction in this area. The teaching was very well received by them all, and we had great feedback(especially from the women lol).

We played several games with them, each one specifically chosen because they required the husband and wife to work together to achieve the goal. It was a great way to put the teaching into practice right off the bat.

We really enjoyed spending quality time with the pastors and their wives, getting to know them and seeing them foster good relationships that God will use to spread the gospel in this great city. As I write this, it has only been a few months since we left, and already they are planning to hold monthly mini-crusades together, going from one pastor's area to the next, month by month.

This was a special day because everything we had hoped to accomplish with the conference was a success. We left the place praising God for pouring out his blessing on our humble efforts.

Praise the Lord!

In local news, a small 3-man team was pounding the pavement on Sunday afternoon down at the boat races. In a few hours, we handed out almost 2,000 tracts and got into several great conversations with people. They tried to kick us out once, but we just moved down the beach about 400 yards and started over. haha It sure was hot, but God strengthened us and gave us good attitudes. Please consider joining us next time we hit it!

then I will see you on the streets!

India 2010, Day 8

Our last day of ministry in Rajahmundry in India is a Sunday, so our schedule brings us first to a small, outdoor church service partly off and partly in the middle of the roadside in a downtown sidestreet.

This place was very special to me personally because a lot of the attendees are people who had come to Christ through the cellphone preaching. Before the service began, Kumar told me that these believers all knew me and were anxious to see me in person because he had conducted the cell-phone preaching at this place a number of times. So at the end of the meeting, I asked him to address the crowd and ask how many of them had become Christians through the cellphone meetings. I was a bit overwhelmed when most of the people there raised their hands. It was a real encouragement to continue the work of the cellphone ministry.

Trevor delivered the main message and we laid hands on a prayed for every person there. the children were giddy and having a wonderful time. We were wondering why the security was so tight and why they looked so nervous. As we left, Kumar explained that just six months ago, the pastor was threatened by Hindu radicals to stop preaching the gospel. After he refused, he was attacked from behind in the middle of a Sunday morning service by a man with a machete, and had his head cut off in front of the whole crowd. We were both shocked and humbled because persecution became very real and also because it was an honor to preach from the pulpit of such a brave brother in Christ, who stood his ground in the face of death.

The evening crusade was in a familiar place. It was just a few kilometers away from our baptism site. As we were weaving our way through the alleyways and streets of the village, Kumar received a phone call and he instructed the driver to stop and shut off the lights. A group of Hindus were at the crusade causing a disturbance and threatening violence. We didnt know if we should be nervous or not. This wasnt the first time on this trip that the hindus were trying to obstruct the work of God. But, soon, the phone rang and we were on our way again. Apparently, there was some sort of deal struck, and we shut off a few of the loudspeakers in order for them to leave us alone.

Our stage was set in the middle of the roadway, and the chairs were lined up the street as far as we could see. The music was so loud. We chuckled together as we surmised what it would have been like if we hadnt shut off half the speakers. Kumar was still upset and said he wanted it to be like"thunder from heaven" upon the entire village. When the speaking began, we could not see how far the crowd went back into the street. There was row upon row of people coming out to hear the gospel. I preached about the fruit in our lives demonstrating what we really are, no matter what we may claim to be, and what it looks like to be a child of God. Then I shared the good news of the gospel with them and offered them an opportunity to come to Christ publicly. The altar filled up rapidly and after praying with them to receive the Lord, we laid hands on them and prayed for every person.

We headed back to Kumar's place, knowing that this was the last day of ministry in this dark city. The need for the gospel is so great in Rajahmundry. We all openly expressed our desire to come back and plant more seeds on this fertile soil.

Monday was a day that was burnt up in travel back to Chennai, so the next blog will begin on our first day of ministry in the city of Chennai, India.

In local news, me, the wife and the kids went down to Columbia Park for the 4th of July festivities last night and handed out over 800 tracts before we settled into a comfortable spot to watch the fireworks. I was pleasantly surprised by my kids as they handed out hundreds of tracts alongside their dad. I'm training up more evangelists!

See you on the streets!