To get there, it is about an hour and a half drive from Kumar's house. We would leave after breakfast and do pastor's training until about 1:00-2:00, then head back to his home and rest for a while before heading straight back to conduct the crusades. While we were gone, the pastors and their wives were busy setting up chairs, lights, sound, etc. for the crusade. By the time we returned, they were already set up, worshiping and preparing the crowd for the message. We offered to stay and help, but Kumar did not want us wandering around for safety's sake.
The hindu man who was having fits the night before was quieted down by the police. In fact, the police even had a few officers present later that night at the crusade to protect us in case anything else might come up. So, despite the disapproval of some, we had our second day of pastor’s training, and Trevor wrapped up Habakkuk with a very good encouragement. Rick went on from the outlining method and got into teaching them how to keep their people living in the basics in their Christian walk
One cool thing we got to do is celebrate Dr Kumar’s 40th birthday. We got to pray for him and have some cake. Then, all the pastors and their wives came forward and we laid hands on them and prayed for their ministries. This was a really incredible blessing for all of us.
The second night of crusades in this place was very powerful. We had over 3,000 people at the meeting and it seemed like pretty much everyone came forward for prayer after the altar call. When I made the call to repentance, every person there got up and called upon the name of the Lord. Its almost surreal to be used in such a powerful way. It hasn’t really set in yet.
It is a real honor to be able to lay hands on people and pray for them, but I have to be honest, there were moments when I looked up and couldn’t believe we had barely made a dent in the crowd as they pressed in, reaching out for a touch from God. There are so many people who are desperately looking for hope. You will be able to see these things on the video at the end of this blog.
Day 5 Friday, March 12
Today we woke up and headed out to the medical camp. This place is about two hours away from Rajahmundry. The medical camp is a place where local villagers can come to get free examinations and medical care. We pulled in, and there were about 20 of teh village people gathered under the shade of a mango tree. Before they began the exams, Dr Kumar asked us to speak to them and give them the gospel. I kind of put Rick on the spot, but he did very well and spoke clearly and plainly to them about Jesus Christ. At the end of his message, most of the people repented and gave their lives to Christ. Kumar was very excited about this because apparently the people in this village are extremely hardcore Hindus and usually won’t even listen to anything about Jesus, even though he has been reaching out to them with the medical camps for a long time.
Also, while we were there, Kumar showed us the foundation that was the beginning of a cancer treatment center. They had put it in about 5 years ago, but when the economy began to fall in the US, the support also went with it. However, they do have a teak-wood plantation that is about half-way mature that they intend to harvest and use to complete the building. They should make several hundred thousand USD when the time comes, and will finish the construction of the cancer treatment center.
Another thing he showed us was a well that they had dug on the property. They tried two times before to find water there, but were unsuccessful, but the donor told them that she was sure that Jesus told her they would find water on the property, and to try one more time in a certain corner. They were laughed at by the geologist for trying, as they had been told they would not find any water on that property, but they went ahead and had them dig one last time. They fo
und water at 60’. Now there is a water supply on the property. Praise God!
We left the medical clinic and took a scenic route along the Bay of Bengal coastline back to Kumar’s home to take some rest before the crusade. There are a lot of people suffering and living in conditions we can hardly even imagine.
At the crusa
de, it was Trevor’s big night to preach. The meeting place was in front of a church, right across the street from a hindu temple. In the background, there was a noisy, jealous pastor who was causing a disturbance. He was upset because he was cut out of Kumar’s network for misusing funds and also because his wife was immoral. He had rented his own PA system and was apparently trying to compete with us. His rantings did not hinder our ministry, though, and many people responded to Trevor’s message. We also prayed over people again. It was a very busy day, and we saw many people come into the kingdom of God!
So ends another fruitful day of ministry. God has totally been filling our cups, and causing them to run over. We can take no credit or accolade for anything that has been happening. All we can do is share what the Lord has done and you can praise Him together with us for His wonderful works! If you would like to watch a highlight video of the entire trip, you can see some of the things we have talked about so far, and a lot of what is still to come! Watch this touching video on the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzTPJI3upc