First Leg of the India Mission

11/19-22/2013 (Delhi, India) - We arrived safe at our midway destination in Delhi, India. We have joined the team in India and we will have the pleasure of participating in the new church dedication tomorrow. Everyone seems healthy & safe. Give thanks to the Lord - He is faithful & good!   

We will be leaving shortly to visit Latipur village about 3 hours drive from Delhi. I use the word "drive" loosely. Lord, continue to bring safe travel and guidance!  However, first we made a stop at a new church plant opportunity along the way to the village. We pulled up along the side of the road, and there were about six men standing there to greet us. They were there to show us the one-acre plot of land that was available for purchase and describe their desire to acquire it. Apparently the owner had five acres and was in need of medical attention and needed the money. It is a good deal at $15K.

House Church Needs a Building

We then went to the Delhi house church that wants to buy this land. The "house" is a building smaller than a one-car garage.  Forty people somehow get into this building for worship. We were introduced and then went inside, where we spoke to the group and shared a testimony. The intensity of their interest was palpable. Eventually, a man asked to address the group. He was neither a member nor a Christian but was the town councilman for the area.  We were later told that the group was fearful of this man, and they did not know what he was going to say.  He went to the podium and said that he would do whatever it took to make the construction of a new church a reality. It would appear that the Holy Spirit had a hold of the councilman’s heart; he was given a rousing ovation. Back on the road to the Latipur Village we were met by a man who is part of a team of church planters who had a proposal for us to look at. We sat at a table in the village hotel and talked with them for about 90 minutes. They are passionate about their ministry, and they appear to be good at it.  Their written proposal was impressive. 

11/23/2013 (Delhi, India) - This morning we were awakened at 5am by hordes of children starting their sports day at the School across the street from our guest house. Buses took hundreds of them out to the countryside, and then they ran back to town. It was loud and boisterous. It is typical India.  At 7:30am we were picked up and taken to the Children‘s Orphanage. This facility is managed by Khen Tombing's cousin Lian. He told us of his prayer to God at age 12 that he could do something for the orphans of the area. He went off to seminary in the U.S. and then returned to start the orphanage. That was 20 years ago. Today, the facility serves 60 girls and 56 boys on-site, and another 430 off-site in various homes in the area but are managed by the facility. Lian has a passion for this ministry and is perfectly placed to lead the effort. You won't believe the videos.  Tomorrow morning, we leave early for the airport to fly to Manipur.

Farming Community near Lamka

11/24/2013 (Manipur India) - Met with Khen Tombing to visit a nearby church. We arrived at about 8am, and the small congregation was there to greet us. We were introduced to the pastor, who told us about the history of the church. It is about three years old and has about 60 people. We were introduced to several church members, including a man who had almost died of a heart attack, which changed his perspective on Christianity when he said he saw a vision of Jesus. He came to church to find out more about Jesus and received Him into his heart. His wife has not joined him in salvation. We laid hands on him and prayed that the Lord would allow him to lead his wife to Christ.  We left with the pastor and were taken to a nearby Muslim area where the Muslims have been totally resistant to the Gospel. We were taken to the home of a farmer who had cattle and grew rice. He was not Muslim but lived in the area. The pastor had been working on building a relationship with him as an entry into the community. We were warmly greeted and were asked to sit down on the porch and have a chat. We got around to talking about God, and he said that he had a house god.  He took us into the house and showed us a corner of his bedroom where there was a little woven bamboo section that cordoned off a small space of about 2x3 feet. He said he goes into this little area and gets a blessing from the house god to ward off any evil that might befall his home. He said that was all he knew about gods. Upon our leaving, he thanked us for coming and appeared to be pleased we came. Later, the pastor told us that the man said that he was very happy that the pastor had brought Americans to his house because it apparently is a status symbol in the town if Americans would come to your house.  He also said that he was thrilled to have been filmed on video. The pastor saw this as a great opportunity to expand his relationship with the man and share the Gospel with him. 

Speaking about the Abandoned Babies Ministry

We got back to the compound about 1:30pm, and we had an appointment to film Rith Tombing (Khen’s wife) as she spoke about her abandoned baby ministry. This was so moving, I can hardly describe it. Rith talked about her miscarriages and her desire to have a baby. This affected her deeply, and she asked the Lord to deal with it for her. Sometime later she was asked to take care of an abandoned baby, and she jumped at the chance.  This was the start of God calling her to go into this ministry. The entire interview and the scenes of the babies will move you deeply.  The morning church service started at 10am, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing and participating in this service. Then we left for the new Munhoih Church for the inauguration and dedication service. This is the church that was built with money from Global Missions. The entire congregation was standing outside when we arrived, and the entrance had a blue ribbon across the doors. A song was sung, and then we cut the ribbon, allowing the congregation to enter. Once the service started, Khen spoke, we shared some skits and testimonies all through interpreters. The congregation came to us afterwards with deep expressions of gratitude for what God had done for them.