Final Weeks

There was great joy and excitement early Wednesday morning when our granddaughter, Amber, arrived to serve alongside us for the remainder of our time here. Ever since she was a small child she knew we traveled to India, but she never understood why. Last year she came for the first time to participate on a mission trip. This year she has come again. It’s been said that God saves the best for last….having Amber here feels just like that!

And she hit the pavement running. After a four hour nap, we left to visit widows. In our last blog we shared about Madhavi’s condemned house. I am happy to report that we were able to have it demolished and carted away. Now the ground will be prepared for the government to build her a new and solid house.

On Thursday Sal presented a new conference topic… Heaven. The teaching is based on Revelation 21-22. These chapters are solid reminders that the best is yet to be. Everyone enjoyed great worship, great teaching and a great lunch.

We were invited to 2 schools on Friday where Amber played volleyball and soccer with eighth grade girls. It was a welcome break for the girls because this is finals week. Testing here is taken very seriously. Children prepare for their exams weeks in advance at home and at school. They ran off a lot of energy with Amber. I even joined the fun and have the sore muscles to prove it!

In between school visits, we met with a recently widowed lady named Carmella. Her husband, under the influence of alcohol, fell and hit his head on the sidewalk and died. We presented her with a provisions package of rice, salt, sugar and oil. Though she is Hindu, she desired that we pray for her to our God. We told her that the God of the Bible loves and cares for widows and so do we. Viju and Ammu will begin the process of assisting her with getting any government help that she is entitled to. She also agreed to come to the widow outreach meetings which we conduct every three months. Ammu will begin building a relationship with her by visiting her in her home.

It has been said that you cannot just hear about India but you must experience India. In 24 hours we went from a conference full of spiritually hungry people, to the smiling faces of young girls playing ball, to the tears and grief of a young widow. Colossians 3:23-24 is a great reminder that everything we do is an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

It will be a bitter/sweet couple of days here because we have two final events before we leave our jungle home for a final week in the city. Please pray for us as we begin the end phase of Mission-India 2025 and turn our hearts toward home.