India: Day Five

It is Wednesday morning as I write this...

We left by train for Punjab on Sunday evening and arrived at the station at 1:00 am on Monday. Our local pastor host carried us for an hour to our accommodations, and we had a short night, waking the next morning to go to our first medical camp in Punjab.

The setting was a local man's "carport" next to his house, where an old, loud, and earth-shaking generator provided power to run the fans that pushed around the 115 degree air around. Compare it to riding in your car in the middle of the summer with the windows rolled up and the heater on full blast, blowing at your face. But, there could have been so air movement all. No worries...

Over 120 patients were seen by our medical team, and Pastor Daniel and I moved among the people, praying for them, sometimes at their request, sometimes silently. I tried to help out where I could, walking people around to the stations, praying for them as we moved. The needs were great, and the poor people hadn't had any medical care, some for their entire lives. One lady in her 50's had never brushed her teeth, and as the doctor explained to her what she needed to do in Punjabi, it was like he was speaking to her in a foreign language.

That evening we came back for to the medical camp site for an open-air crusade meeting. We arrived about thirty minutes late for the scheduled start time, and I got a bit discouraged because there were no people assembled. Well true to form for Indian open-air meetings, once the music started and the sound system broadcast the worship, people began to assemble.

About 120 people were there as I began to preach, most from the medical camp, and most having never been to a Gospel meeting of any kind. I gave a simple message about stepping out to follow Jesus, using the story of Jesus calling Peter to come out of the boat to walk on the water with him. We gave an altar call, and a full 80% of the people responded, praying to give their lives to Christ!

We concluded the meeting, praying for a few people who desired prayer. It was a long, hard, hot but incredible day... The Lord is good!

And today, we get the privilege to do it all again in another area. Check back for what I am expecting to be another great report...