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!