Now that I have briefed everyone on the cultural climate we are in, let me tell some specific stories about what has happened and what we are learning about God.
We sit in a room for hours listening to lectures from workers here every day. Whenever I walk in the door and grab my pen, I dread the hour I'm soon to endure of notes and listening. When I walk out that same door, I'm filled with zeal. I'm ready to go share with anyone and everyone. Remember when I said they emphasize story telling in this country? I didn't know how true that was until I engaged in storytelling. You aren't going to argue someone into the Kingdom. They want experiences. Show them the Kingdom! We would tell our personal testimonies and other stories about Jesus and His power. Those two bridges can take you a long way with these people.
We rode the metro train quite often. It's the subway that rests high above the roads and buildings. It's literally a fight to get into one of these. My football instincts kicked in after a while. I threw my shoulder down and ran though frail Indian men to win a place among the hundreds in each little car. One time the door closed just behind me and all eyes turned toward me. I had a look of relief on my face because of my miniature victory in making the cut for this train. One Indian guy about my age found my revelry amusing and smirked. "That was a close one, right?" I sighed with a cordial, goofy tone. He nodded and replied, "Yes, very close!" I began making small talk with him and got to know him. For his protection I won't say his name but he was, as most are, very interested in the story of the American. Where was I from? What do I study? I told him I was from the United States and he seemed very excited to be talking to me. I said I was a writer from Lexington and I've come to write about his country. This certainly isn't a lie, right? But I didn't stop there. "I do love writing. But do you wanna know what my real passion is?" I inquired? He pleaded for me to tell. "I'm a Yeshu bakta. I'm a Jesus follower! I love Jesus and he has changed my life. Can I tell you the story of what Jesus has done for me?" He was all ears. So I told him all about my life before Jesus, my encounter with Jesus as I received him, and my life since then. I told him that I have peace and joy. I am now connected with God and have assurance that I will be with Him eternally. He saved me and I love Him. I'm now a child of God and have His Spirit. This blew him away.
The fact that it blew him away blew me away. He had never heard of Jesus. "Can anyone have that peace and connection to God?" he asked. "Of course! Anyone can have it if they believe in their heart and confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and repent of their sins." He thought it was incredible. By this time we needed to switch trains but he came with us. He followed us for 17 stops more than he needed just so we could talk more. We ended up praying for him by the end and asked Jesus to come fill him. He said he knows some professing Christians at the university and will follow up with them if he wants to take it all more seriously. We rode home in disbelief. A simple story that is so common in the United States is gripping and powerful here. I am now addicted to sharing.
I started so see just how easy it really is to share here. You barely have to try. They approach you. You ask them if they want to hear a story. They always do. Always. You tell them. They either think its a good thing for us or they want to hear more about Jesus. If they want to hear more we tell them. Then we pray for them in any way they need it most. Whether it be healing, peace or blessing. Anything at all is prayed for. We believe that Jesus will show himself through our prayer to these people! He does! We do this every day in all sorts of places. People are a lot more open minded than you would think. Don't debate them! They have philosophies that are far different from ours. It is a futile enterprise. Just show them! Your life and the power of the Spirit is good enough. I promise you it is. Don't believe me? Jesus said it too! Our love for them speaks louder than any deductive argument could.
Their favorite story is the one where Jesus heals the man possessed by demons. They flip for that one. It hits home for them and they see that kind of power here sometimes. You have to learn to contextualize. I'm not saying that we alter the story of Jesus or anything! You don't need to because it's a very Asian book. These people understand it well when they read it knowing Jesus is God.
There are too many incredible stories to recall. We've been praying that God sends demons out of women at a Muslim mosque, prayer walking the streets of the cities, being invited in homes to pray Jesus over the family and have Him heal the diseases they all have. We went to Haridwar; a small town surrounded by mountains that houses one of the largest Hindu festivals in the world and shared with the people there. Sikhs were wanting to know Jesus and the idols these people worshiped seemed powerless. Spiritual warfare is a reality so dense at times that you can almost sense it in the physical.
It's only week one.
The dozen we have here is having a blast telling people about Jesus and we aren't slowing down now. We aren't even in our respective areas yet! Great things have happened but even greater things are waiting for us. It can only be done through Him. This is something we must emphasize to everyone including ourselves. We have no power on our own and must rely 100% on Him and then some. Without God our labor is fruitless and powerless. It's all for His glory and for growing His Kingdom. We don't belong to a church here and aren't asking for money. We just want everyone to know Jesus.
Prayer requests right now would have to be a continuous boldness to go out and have those conversations. We also need God's eyes for the places we go. We need to see what He wants us to do and where it needs to happen. Pray for good soil for us to sow seeds in and pray for them to receive the news with excitement and joy. Pray that God is glorified.
R*ch
