Tears for India: Overview of Manipur India Missions Team

I'm trying to catch up on my India Missions blog with an upfront overview and some detailed stories to follow from my journal. The focus of the team for coming to India is to help in equipping leaders internationally to make known the gospel, serve the orphans/widows, and provide medical treatment to those in need at the three day camp. Essentially, I feel we are in India as designed by God to serve with our eyes/hearts open to global and cultural realities so we can become more effective in cross-cultural ministries. Going to several services and bible studies here in Delhi and Lamka in the northern and eastern portion of Manipur India has made me realize several things, but two in particular stand out.

Rayburn Youth Hostel

First, every service and bible study has a time to give an offering. And almost every single person attending gives something, no matter how small. Every time! Some people even bring produce, which I have learned is the first and best of their crops. The bible study at the Rayburn youth hostel is comprised mostly of college-aged people or young adults. In the States, this group of people in particular is not known for their giving to the church. Yet tonight, almost every person gave money. And these same people will give money at the Sunday morning service, Sunday evening service, and the Thursday night “youth" service. Their generosity towards God and His church is amazing. And it really convicts me. Why do I hold so tightly to my money? Why am I not willing to give, and be joyful in my giving? I’ve heard sermons on financing, stewardship, and tithing, but nothing has made me ponder this aspect of worship more than seeing the people of Manipur India give so freely of their possessions.

Corporate Prayer and Worship

Another beautiful part of worshiping with the people in Manipur India is mass prayer. There is always a time when everyone in the room prays simultaneously. The sound of multiple people all praying to God at one time is so powerful. And as I joined them in prayer, it occurred to me that although there were about 15 of us praying all at the same time and in 2 different languages, God was listening to each one of us. It was a very cool experience. This type of group prayer is a really awesome thing, and I think it should be used more in the States...

Dinner Table

India is so different than in the US; how things are cooked, hygiene, transportation, housing, family relationships. Their living standard is also much more simple and basic. But I had this realization today as I was talking to some of the families. These people are not destitute. These people are not struggling to survive. Lamka is a fairly “middle class" area. The people work, go to school to get an education, go to restaurants, give money to the church, go to places to have fun.... This is their version of normal. Yes, there are exceptions, as anywhere. But the majority of people I see and automatically label as “poor," “needy," or “unfortunate" are actually doing just fine, and are probably very happy with their lives being simple. Our American standard of living just doesn’t fit these good folks, nor should we impose that on them. I’m not really sure that it fits me either. I like the simple life!

Kids outside the medical camp

Tears because he is so happy to receive soap

Simple Laughter...touched my heart

Girls at the Rayburn Youth Hostel

While we look at third worlds like India as having so much less than we do in America, they are so resourceful, and it seems like they do not need many of the comforts we take for granted. Many of them are clearly filled with God’s love and know Him. That is where real poverty lies, a lack of Christ. However, at the same time there are times here when I really feel the material poverty is an issue. At the school, I came across many children who were obviously very sick and were falling asleep at 9am, but their parents didn’t realize or didn’t have the resources to care for them. A lack of medical care seems like one of the areas were material support could really help the people of Lamka. It is tricky, thinking about helping Lamka and surrounding villages without simply making them like us. They have a very different culture with its own standards and quirks. That is one reason I am so thankful for the Tombings vision. They are doing exactly what is needed, meeting the needs around them with the proper cultural context and with the love of Christ. Please keep their family in your prayers. They have told us their area of ministry that needs the most help right now is the Abandoned Babies Home Ministry. It is very expensive to care for them and pay quality workers 24 hours a day. We know that God is here in Manipur India though, and for that we can be incredibly happy.
These people don’t necessarily “need" my American dollar or attitude, to tell them how to school their children or how to “properly" cook their food or how to change their sewage system, or how to play soccer in the mud. This is how they live, and they are happy. So, why am I here? I came to experience and learn about a new culture and to bring hope to the broken in spirit. I’m here to experience Christian community and the church of Jesus Christ in action on the other side of the globe! When I start to abandon the attitude that I’m here to enrich the poor, to Americanize or Westernize this place, then the people here and their lives begin to seem more similar to my own. The common threads of humanity begin to outshine the cultural differences. God has made so many different cultures, and that is such a beautiful thing. But at the same time, He has made us all fundamentally the same. We all need oxygen to breathe...food and water to survive...and we all crave love and relationship with other people and with our Creator. This commonality between humans everywhere is perhaps a rather obvious fact, but the force with which this simple thought is hitting me today is astounding. I think it will change the way I view all of my actions, my interactions with people, and my attitude toward India and other parts of the world as a whole. I pray that it alters the way I see the world and the thousands of beautiful cultures God has created. It is beautiful to see how awesome God is moving with Kingdoms advancements and restoring hope to the brokenhearted all around the world.

ps: Manipur India is like 10.5 hours ahead of EST where most of you will be reading this blog, so this is somewhat of a temporal paradox as I write about things that have happened over the past week and some things that will be in most of your immediate future.