Team India 2010
St. Luke’s Team India left on 12 November, travelling 30 hours to arrive in Siliguri via Mumbai and Kolkota on the afternoon of 13 November.
Our first ministry assignment was the following morning (Sunday 14 November). I was privileged to preach at the Sukanta Pally Shalom Church in one of the poorer parts of Siliguri. After the message, the team ministered in prayer for healing and personal problems. A Hindu family had sent their baby along for prayer as it was sick and we trust the Lord that he showed His power to them through healing the child. In this little church we also had our first taste of Nepali worship – a beautiful language made even more beautiful when used to praise the Lord!
Throughout the following week (Monday to Saturday with a day off on Wednesday to visit Darjeeling) we taught a group of students from Asian Outreach who are being discipled and prepared to be involved in church planting. I taught on Worship, Celeste on Bible Study and Cliff on Prayer and Fasting. For the students this involved 6 hours of teaching per day, as well as an hour of devotions morning and evening. I am so blessed to have witnessed their commitment to Christ and to growing in Him! Thelma, Jenny and Freddy ministered the Word in short devotions at the start of each morning and afternoon session too, so we were all soaked in the Word that week.
Each day team members who were not involved in the teaching went out on the streets to do prayer-walking. This involved praying for the needs we saw along the way as well as stopping at strategic spots to pray against the spiritual strongholds in the area. This was a spiritually exhausting ministry. In addition we also spent time in worship and intercession for the nation of India in the brand new Prayer Tower being built on the property adjacent to Asian Outreach India. This beautiful building is to be used for 24/7 worship and intercession after it’s dedication early next year.
As mentioned, Wednesday was our day off and we had the opportunity to see some of the natural beauty of West Bengal State as we made our way up the mountain to Darjeeling. Some of our students came from that region and it was interesting to see the houses almost hanging off the side of the mountain (so it seemed to this Free Stater anyway)! Truly this part of the world is beautiful. It is only us human beings who mess it up and make it ugly wherever we settle! We thank the Lord for this opportunity to see His glory in nature. We were spoilt with a trip to Darjeeling Zoo where we saw the red panda and other amazing creatures. A highliught was also seeing the Christian presence in darjeeling, where there is a Christian school and an old Presbyterian Church in the city centre.
The Thursday our ministry resumed, following the same pattern, but it was as though the Holy Spirit had decided the time had come to move in power. We were blessed to be able to have a time of worship with the students and to receive prophetic words for each student. This ministry definitely released an extra element of excitement and anticipation into the ministry. The following day, Friday, Cliffie began his teaching on Prayer and Fasting and then on Saturday our anticipation was fulfilled as we ministered on the baptism in the Holy Spirit and witnessed the Lord at work in the students lives in a powerful way. We also symbolically placed “mantles” of ministry on thhe students and prayed for a release of God’s power in their lives for their various ministries.
This session was followed by an outing to the river banks to go and pray for the nation of India. All we planned to do was pray and cast our prayers and salt into the river (like Elisha did for the healing of the waters of Jericho). However, the Lord had other plans, and while we were busy praying a crowd of curious onlookers gathered. So Pastor Lucky preached the gospel and we and the students prayed for people and some accepted Christ. The Lord was already answering our prayers for India.
The last Sunday we were there we visited the Shalom Church in the Santali Village. This is a village that has predominantly accepted Christ and where the church is really thriving. It was again a wonderful experience to share in their worship and to witness their passion for Jesus. Cliffie preached the word and we enjoyed a time of fellowship with the pastor and his family. On leaving the church Cliff and I decided to join the students in walking back to the Centre. This was also one of the best decisions we made in India as it gave us a chance to bond a bit with the students, but also to see more of the natural beauty of India as we walked through rice paddies, forded a river with an amazing view of the foothills, and even stopped in Elephant Village for some pokora (spicy potato fritters) next to the road.
That evening our minds were blown as the students bade us farewell in such an emotional fashion that it reminded me of Paul’s farewell with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, where it says in v. 37 that “they all wept as they embraced him.” We were all overwhelmed by the sense of privilege to be honoured in this way. In a sense it affirmed our ministry with them; but it also just showed me again how when we have the Holy Spirit in common we can break through to build relationship even across the language barrier. (Only a few of them spoke broken English and none of us spoke Nepali, so all of our teaching was done through the interpreting of Ps. Lucky).
The journey home took us through Calcutta, which was an eye-opener to the poverty of urban India, but also a blessing as we visited the Mark Buntain Memorial Assemblies of God Church and witnessed the amazing work they are doing there through their Bible College, High School, and Hospital! On Sundays they have about 8 different services in various languages! WOW!
So all in all Mission india was a great success and blessing. We all left part of our hearts in India … but we also brought a part of India home with us in our hearts. Thank you to everyone who supported us in prayer and through financial support. Your ministry meant the world to us!
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- Team India 2010
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- Outreach on the river banks
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- The girls wearing their “mantles” for ministry
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- The first morning of teaching on Worship
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- The Church we ministered in on Sunday 14 Nov. 2010
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- “Go into all the world and preach the Word to all creation.” Mark 16:15
Hi Dave,
You told us about the simplistic, almost childlike, yet deep faith of the Indian Christians. I’m getting the same message from a book I’m reading at the moment about the Chinese Christians (Back To Jerusalem). I agree with you that as Westerners we have a lot to learn from these Nations. I believe that we are missing out on a deeper intimacy with the Lord and growth in our faith, by worrying too much about outward appearances and what ‘other people’ will say.
But how do we break the bonds of so called,’ Western traditions and mindset.’
Thanks for the comment Charmaine. Just for the record (and not to nitpick but to make sure of accuracy), I think “simple” is a better word to express what I wanted to say, rather than “simplistic”.
As for the question: I think its just a matter of making the decision that I am not going to settle for religion … doing everything I can to deepen my intimacy with Jesus … and then stepping out in faith to obey whatever He tells me to do … regardless of the perceptions I may have about what will happen. Easier said than done!