India 1: Day 3
India is so
different than anything I have ever seen or experienced. There are shrines to
all their many gods on almost every street and it breaks my heart. They bow
down to gods that have been made by human hands, hoping to get blessed by them,
but never actually receiving anything for their dutiful prayers. Their gods are
empty gods with empty promises.
Today we were
able to visit a church of believers, called Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship,
which was a relief in such an unknown place. The service was in English and
much like our Western services in America with hymns and praises. Being there
was like a breath of normality in the middle of a very dark world. It was a
blessing to be so welcomed into the church and to watch the people worship the
same God I worship, instead of the millions of gods that are worshipped just
outside the door. BBCF was very centered on prayer and fellowship, which was
beautiful to witness and be part of for the day.
Later we were
able to fellowship over lunch with other missionaries and also walk through the
market with them too. As we walked we were able to stop and pray over a woman
who has been showing a great interest in Jesus, and let us speak openly to her
about Him in her work place. She is of the Sikh religion, where you can only
pray to the Guru while at the temple, so she was confused at first as to how we
would pray when not at a temple. Mary explained to her that our God, Yisu
(which is Jesus in Hindi), is an all present God, so He can hear our prayers no
matter where we are. The woman has been married five years and has yet to have
her first child. In India you are supposed to have your first child within one
year of marriage, so we prayed that she would soon be able to have the child
she so desperately wants. As we left she said, "Yisu, this is a god I can
pray to." I felt very blessed to have been a part of praying for such a
sweet woman, and I will continue to pray that she has a child and that she will
come to know the love of Christ.
To finish the
day we went to Dave and Mary's home for dinner and also to hear Dr. Wolfe give
a lecture entitled “History On A Page”. His emphasis was that Jesus is the
hinge of history and he gave us practical applications to use while witnessing.
Please pray
for us, that God will work through us in this dark place, and pray for all the
people we meet along the way. Also pray for the other missionaries here as
well, that God continues to send them and that His will is fulfilled through
them.
The Bible
says, "The Lord is near all them that call on him, to all that call on him
in truth." (Psalm 145:18)Elisabeth
India 1 Team
