India 1 Team: Day 8

India 1 Team: Day 8  
     We had the opportunity to visit a Tibetan history museum today. It really opened our eyes to all the strife and hardships that the Tibetans have had to face as a result of the Chinese overtaking their country and, it helped us understand their mindset, especially when it comes to spiritual things.
     In addition, we visited a Buddhist monastery and temple. Practically everywhere we looked we saw prayer wheels, flags, or mantras with hundreds of people trying to earn themselves more merit. It is heartbreaking to see so many lost people, trusting in their own works to "save" them. Praise God for making a way of salvation for us, not dependent our own good deeds, but only through His Son!
     In the evening we got the chance to have dinner with a God-honoring family and another brother in Christ, encouraging them and also being encouraged. It was a blessing and challenge to be able to see how this family is following God in this country and impacting those around them.
Hannah Seaton
India 1 Team

India 1 Team: Day 7

India 1: Day 7
   Today our team, accompanied by Dave and Mary, flew to a mountainous region in Northern India. We flew up together and admired the breath taking landscape of the mountains. The air at a higher elevation was refreshing to the team after being in Delhi for the last week.  It is very green in Northern India and there are so many species of birds/eagles as well as baboons and elephants.  
   Later in the day we walked up from our hotel on very steep hills to see more of the area and have dinner with new friends. It was very encouraging to hear the two brothers in Christ stories about their testimony. They are political refugees. They aren't afforded many rights in India, they weren't given any documentation to solidify themselves as citizens of any nation. When they learned about Christ and his rescuing love their lives were transformed. It was encouraging to hear their faith and their mission to learn more by going to school so that they can better defend their faith.
   It has been apparent for us on this trip of the expansiveness of God's kingdom and it has been a blessing to hear so many stories from believers. We are praying for opportunities to interact and connect with the people of the area and to see Christ glorified in that. We ask for your continued prayer for our team as we approach the last few days of our travel.
Lance
India 1 Team
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

India 1 Team: Day 6

India 1: Day 6
     Behold our God's power and majesty! Today was a wonderful day and a wonderful advance in the kingdom of God. We started off the day by having breakfast with Dave and Mary Hall (the missionaries we are working with). It was a great time of fellowship and planning out the days to come. We went to Hamayun's tomb, and visited Old Delhi market place. At first, many of us were skeptical because even though it is fun visiting sites of tourism, we really wanted to do more talking and sharing of the gospel. And you know what is amazing about that? God is so incredibly faithful to allow opportunities even in the most unlikely of places. As we walked the streets of Hamayun's tomb multiple groups of Muslims stopped to talk with us, they asked many questions about who we were and why we were there. We gladly answered and in the end gave them a book on the truth of Jesus, and an SD card that held various biblical resources. They were very grateful to receive a gift from Americans. Later as we made our way to the exit, they stopped Lance to talk. They pointed to the picture of Jesus in the book and asked who he was. Lance shared who Jesus was and the work Christ had done in him. Many other groups wanted pictures with us, shake hands, and share names. We gave as many books out as we could without drawing too much attention to it. As they cheered for getting a picture with Americans we moved on to the next place.
     It is just truly amazing to see that all work is for the glory of God. Our charisma, our smile, our outward appearance are all meaningless without the presence of God. Who are we but broken, obedient servants of our Lord? As we drove to the marketplace of Old Delhi it became more and more clear that we would not be able to stop here. There was a sea of people, cars were mere inches away from each other. You could see nothing but faces, and carts moving market items. It's hard to fully paint the picture of what this is like. We estimated without exaggeration that there was a million people crammed into this tight market place. Most of which need to hear the gospel, India has droves of people and so many of them worship thousands of idols. Pray that the supreme God will be made known in their lives.
     We ate at a Chili's in a local mall, and met a server named Deep Bagga, she was very interested in the girls and they talked about the Christmas story and gave her an SD card as well. She was very kind and very interested in truth of Jesus.    
     As always thank you for prayers, continue to pray that we will be on our guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous and be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
     It is truly a sight to see when God takes the most unlikely circumstances and allows us to share His glorious gospel. God uses the small things to build big things in the hearts and minds of others. To God be the glory, forever and ever!
Andrew Kata
India 1 Team

India 1: Day 5

India 1 Team: Day 5 
     This morning we had the opportunity to meet with one of the IMB’s mission strategist named Kyle who shared about the several different opportunities and programs to serve internationally. Our young adults were able to hear about opportunities that are as short as 2 months and as long as 2-3 years. We also were able to be challenged to live outside of our personal comfort zones and to allow the Lord to use all of us for His Glory. This is not just being the hands and feet of Jesus, but beyond, allowing our eyes to cry His tears and our hearts to be stamped with His glorious Mission.
     In the afternoon we visited a Tibetan Refugee Camp called Majnu ka Tilla where we covered the entire village with prayer in teams of two. This little village had homes that were built on top of each other and small cramped curvy streets with stagnate water. Currently there are no Christian missionaries that have yet engaged in this village and our time of prayer was prepping the soil for the seeds to be planted in the future as teams after us would be broadcasting the message of Christ.
      In the heart of the village was a Buddhist temple where candles were burning and monks were there chanting their mantra. On the outside of the temple were these metal containers with writings on the outside. Speaking with a middle-aged man named Justin who was originally from Japan, he explained that these containers attached to the outside of the temple were called prayer wheels. Two times a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, Buddhist would walk around the temple and spin the prayer wheels which represented prayers for prosperity, health, career, and for happiness that would ascend into the heavens. Inside the prayer wheels were pieces of paper that prayers were written out by Buddhist holy men. Although Justin did not know the actual prayers inside the prayer wheels, he viewed this activity as his prayers, to seek a peace in his life that he was lacking. He shared that spinning these prayer wheels were one of the ways that he was able to seek ultimate happiness in all areas of his life. We prayed over the man and asked for him to seek the truth which is only found in Jesus.
     Later in the afternoon until early evening, we travelled to a community park that was near some of the government buildings, including the United States embassy. While in this park, we observed several “new” things since we had arrived in India including large open fields of grass, beautiful flowers, tall trees, and trash cans (yes- these were the first public trash cans that we had seen in four days in a city of 24 million people) .
     In this park, several families were gathering for a Muslim holiday called Eid al-Fitr which is a holiday that marks the end of Ramadan where Muslims families break their time of fasting. As we prayer walked, our intentions were to engage in conversations with individuals about what they believed and why.
    Lance and I were able to prayer walk together and experience conversations with Afghan Refugees that were celebrating Eid al-Fitr together. We spent about 20 minutes talking about their life experiences including how difficult their situation was in India as refugees since they were not permitted to carry work visas and had to nearly beg to find low income work. We were able to exchange email addresses and agreed to find each other on Facebook to continue in conversations that were just begun at the steps of a mosque that held the remains of important Islamic leaders from the 1500’s.  Imagine that. A small town Kentucky boy having a conversation for the glory of Christ with four Muslims from Afghanistan in the midst of an Islamic holiday, God is so good.
     While at the park we also were able to experience culture as Lance and I were invited to play cricket for a few moments with Indians that only spoke Hindi.
     As we engaged the culture, we came to realize that we humans have so much in common including celebrating holidays, playing games and the joys of an afternoon family picnic in an open field of green grass. With all of these commonalties, I was reminded of the common need for salvation. All of humanity is fallen and finds itself in the desperate need of hope. A hope found only in Christ. A saving hope that many have never heard.
     Lord, help us to be your hands, your feet and use our eyes to cry your tears for the masses that are lost in hopelessness without you.
John Adams
India 1 Team

India 1: Day 4

India 1 Team: Day 4  
     This morning we had the incredible opportunity to visit a slum school that is run by  a couple from Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship nearby. It was amazing for us as Americans, to be involved in a ministry run by a Mexican man, married to a French woman, with a helper from New Zealand, all working together in India to teach these sweet children about Christ through education. While there was an obvious language barrier, it was such a blessing to be able to interact with the kids on a basic level. Our time there involved singing a few songs with them in Hindi, teaching them the children's song "My God is So Big" (which they caught on to very quickly!), sharing a personal salvation story with them, and helping them color. It was such a blessing to be able to see this ministry and be involved in it in a very small way!
     During the afternoon we went scavenging through the local market. We were able to really interact with the locals here and, gain a better grasp of the culture. The whole experience was a great reminder to us that we have absolutely no control of what happens here, but thankfully, we know God does and He is far more trustworthy than any of us!
     Thank you so much for your prayers, they have been evidenced in almost everything we have done and we can see the Lord's hand guiding the direction of our time here. We ask that you would pray for us specifically tomorrow as we go out and witness on a Delhi University campus. Please pray for courage and wisdom, especially as we seek to follow the Spirits' guidance for us and His divine appointments, especially those we will engage tomorrow.
     "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases." (Psalm 115:1-3)
Hannah
India 1 Team

India 1: Day 3

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

India 1: Day 2

India 1: Day 2,
     Our team woke up this morning and prepared to fully encounter the specific cultural and religious idolatry/evil that we are facing in Delhi.  Accompanied by the missionaries we are partnering with, we were given a tour of Northern Delhi places of worship by a converted Hindu Pastor named Ravi.
     We toured a Hindu Crematorium, Birla Temple (Hindu), Bangla Sahib (Sikh), and Nizzamudin Mosque (Muslim). Our team prayed together and prayer walked the sights praying that our Lord light would penetrate the darkness. The team felt a great sense of awareness of the principalities of the dark and harsh stares of those worshipping there. There is so much darkness and desolation in and around these beautifully architected temples here. We see the same darkness at home, but this darkness has a different face that we are not familiar with.
     This morning at the crematorium we saw people carry their loved ones ashes to the (Hindi sacred) Yamuna river in hopes that they'd find favor with their gods and receive salvation after the river had accepted them. Our team prayed for the misled and the for God's truth to penetrate this stronghold in dead tradition.
     Our prayers in the temples were that the people of India will stop worshipping the dead and following the living Savior Jesus Christ.  We pray that the veils are removed from their eyes and they will turn from the false teachings the devil has used to hide the truth from them.
     From there, we got to hear the incredible testimony of our guide, Pastor Ravi, describe his journey of conversion to Christianity.  The power of his testimony will stay with us because of his passion and comfort in his salvation in Christ. This was evidence to him by challenging God to reveal Himself to him.
      Furthermore, while in the elaborate temples/mosques we followed standard traditions as anyone entering the temples would, and it certainly stretched us outside of our comfort zones. In the places of worship we saw the idolatry and confusion of people who worshipped unknown gods, performed religious rituals to a language and teaching they cannot understand. One of the most interesting parts of the day was when prayed against the forces of darkness in a sacred Muslim place where a Sufi saint was laid to rest and only Muslim men were allowed to pray. The spiritual warfare in that small space was clear to us while praying for their repentance and salvation at one of their ceremonial alters.
     Pray for us that we will not have a spirit of fear, but of boldness and that we will trust the Holy Spirit to guide us in all of our interactions with the people of Delhi. Thanks for your prayers, we can see the evidence of faithful followers praying to our Lord.
Lance
India 1 Team
Acts 5:11-32

India 1: Day 1

India 1: Day 1

The team has finally embarked on a great journey. We left the airport not fully knowing what to expect. We may be ready in a physical sense, but our emotions, and spiritual life will be tested in all areas on this trip. When we first arrived, the thing that stood out the most was the sheer chaos that is called traffic. There is no rhyme or reason to it. People drive while straddling the road lines, horns going off in every car, and cars so close you could easily reach out and touch them. However, regardless of the trials and dangers we may face, Christ is made greater when we become lesser. Our reliance on The Lord will be our guide, and prayer will be our hope. Please continue to pray for us as we become a beacon of light in a dark place, pray that the gospel will spread like a wildfire, and pray the enemy will be kept at bay. C.H. Spurgeon says: "If sinners be damned, let them leap to hell over our bodies." There is an urgency here, and we must be obedient to the Fathers guidance.
We go out today to a Hindu temple, a Sikh temple, and a Muslim mosque. We will witness cremations, scattering of ashes, and just how they conduct themselves in worship. We will certainly pray over Gods hand to work in these areas. Prayer walking will take great precedence on this trip, for prayer is the slender nerve that moves the hand of God in these places. Pray for divine appointments so we may meet with individuals and share our story. Our personal story will be one of the greatest ways to capture ones heart. Pray for us to have comfort in sharing and comfort in an unknown place and people, and that we may have confidence. Any leader is measured and judged by there followers, and likewise Christ is judged and measured by our actions in being His followers. Thank you for your love, prayers, and encouragement in this time! May God bless you as you go out during your day!

Andrew Kata
India 1 Team