Here is an account of the first two days of ministry on one of my recent India mission trips:
After two days, five flights, and six airports, I was met by my ministry partner Pastor Daniel and local Pastor Danis in Jammu City, Kashmir on a Friday afternoon.
We began the evangelistic crusade in the evening, and with over 1,000 in attendance, I brought a simple evangelistic message about the woman who was sick for 12 years reached out to Jesus. When the altar call was given, people began streaming forward. It was incredibly exciting to see over 1/4 of the attendees standing in the front and repeating a prayer, giving their lives to Jesus for the first time!
The next day, we began with a humble medical camp, after traveling 40 km into the foothills of the Himalayas to a city called Akhanor. We were joined there by Emmanuel, the worship leader from last evening's crusade.
Braving 105 degree temperatures, we set up under a huge banyan tree in the middle of a field strewn with dusty shrubs, complete with piles of water buffalo dung. There we ministered to 60 poor people. Our medical team dispensed medical help, and Pastor Daniel and I dispensed spiritual help, praying for the people who desired it.
One lady asked me to pray for her, and after I did, I began to share with her and her husband about Jesus, aided by the translation of Emmanuel. (Got to love worship leaders...) Both the lady and her husband prayed and asked Jesus into their lives!
We had an excellent crusade meeting that evening, where Pastor Daniel and myself preached to an even larger crowd than the first night. At the altar call, once again, hundreds came forward to receive Christ!
It was what happened before my message that I want to highlight: There was a time of testimonies, and four people spoke. Aided by a translator sitting next to me, I was told that one of the testimonies was a woman who had attended last evening's crusade and heard my word about the woman who had a sickness for 12 years.
She related that she also had been sick for several years, and when I had told the people that like the woman we need to reach out to Jesus, she said she began to pray and reach out to Him. Immediately, she said, her pain began to subside, and her body "felt lighter". She also related that not only did her body feel at peace, but her spirit and soul did also. All that she had been worrying about seemed to go away, she said, and she felt "very close to God."
Once again, I was humbled by the Presence of God, and of hearing what He was doing in the lives of people who need a touch from Him. I am in awe of His love, and that He allows me to be a part of what He is doing.
I quote my wife Elaine who says, "When Brad goes to India, God shows off, and he gets to watch."
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