Greatest Love

I was asked to preach at the afternoon service. Before the service, Pastor John and I talked about my gifting. He told me to go ahead and preach what was on my heart. I laughed as he told me to “tear it up”. I’m humbled by the opportunity and was excited what the Lord would do.

The message the Lord had me share was about the greatest love in my life Jesus. It was that Love that sent me to India to be in front of all of them. It is the Great Love that I need to share with them. Many made commitments for Jesus as Lord as the question was posed, who would like to personally know that great love? I’m not sure on the exact count as I could not see, it doesn’t matter as the Lord knows, The message continued on about the Holy Spirit ~ the One Who enables us to walk out the plan God has for our lives. The Lord moved His Spirit upon the people. Heavenly languages were pouring forth thanksgiving and praise to the Lord our God. Once again, I stand in awe of what the Lord has done. I am honored that I have been sent to India to be apart of and see another outpouring of His Spirit.

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Feeding the Multitudes: The Word in action

Day two: Revival unto Holiness. Days are planned around 3 services with breaks for lunch and dinner. We will assist them with serving the meals….

Lunch Break happens at 1:30pm and the people lined up in rows. We help feed the multitude of people ~ 2000+. Lunch menu was: Rice, vegetable curry, samba, all served on a banana leaf. Note: Banana leafs have a natural anti bacterial property, they are freshly removed from the tree, rinsed and then used as the disposable plate. (Nice to know what to use in a pinch!)

It is a well orchestrated event. Distribution of the food started with the rice. We served the rice first, (4 scoops of rice for the adults, 1 or 2 for the children), followed by the Curry (2 or 3 Scoops for Adults, 1 or 2 for the Children), then ending with as much Samba,(a broth type soup with vegetables), as they wanted. I discovered that us Americans are not as fast as the Indians. To feed 2000+ people in under an hour you have to move. It was wonderful to serve the people.

Pastor John shared that these people had never had someone “white” wait on them before in their lives. That it was something that they would remember for the rest of their lives. In the caste system, these people were a part of the backward caste, so nobody waits on them. Here we were, breaking caste, waiting on them. Glory to God!!!! The walls of separation were coming down. A direct answer to our prayers Eph 2:4. Thank you Jesus!!

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Revival unto Holiness Day 1

Tonight was the kickoff of the 3 day crusade. A tent was set up along the river on church property that about a mile from the main church. The property will eventually have an orphanage and school set up. There are rice fields that line the property and water buffalo being raised for milk. Pastor John shared with us that as a young boy growing up, he would see the rice mill tower from any point in the city as it was the tallest structure in the village. And now, the Church owns the property ~ Glory to God!

When we arrived, there was between 1000-1500 people singing praise and worship songs in Telugu. Pastor John told us that the crowd would grow as the days progressed. There was just a few rows of chairs set up in the back of the tent, most sat on the ground. Three big bullhorn speakers put up out in front of the property facing the village. The message was not only to be heard by those under the tent, but to be heard by all. Proclaim the message of the Good News by transmitting it to all.

A Indian pastor started off the service followed a message shared by Pastor Ken, a Pastor from Wisconsin. For him, it was the first time he had used an interpreter, so it took a bit of getting use to knowing when to pause. I just kept praying for him and the Lord to touch the hearts of those who heard the message. As the service went on, many people were drawn to the property, standing by the side of the road listening to all that was being said. There were also two more Indian Pastors who shared after Pastor Ken. The entire team was getting tired ~ jet lag. It was catching up with us……Pastor John suggested that we turn in for the night. That was a good idea.

Pastor John opening the Crusade, Pastor Ken (on right) with Pastor Paul translating
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Photography skills

I recently obtained a digital camera. I’m having fun learning all the bells and whistles that go with it. Unfortunately, I had an accident with it. I wanted to check the space left on the card and hit the OK button ~ while I was on the format screen. Well, I reformatted the card. Some photos were recovered, and others will come to me via other photographers. Please check back as there are some beautiful photos of the people that I don’t want anyone to miss….

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Children’s Service

We did a children’s service to start off ministry. The children sang to us in Telugu. It is precious. I always close my eyes in anticipation of being wisked to heaven to see all the tribes tongues and nations praising the Lord in their own language.

Our team did not sing (so per say). The team performed a skit about having Jesus as Lord. Usually, we do the skit for the unsaved. But we performed it to show how being too busy with friends and playing all the time can push the Lord out of our life. How it is important to spend time playing with the Lord each day.

The teachers ask us to pray over the children one by one. They line up 7 lines for us to pray. I thought I was going slow through my prayer line, it seemed to not get any shorter. After finishing over one girl, I was enlightened to why my line was taking so long to get through ~ some of the Children were hopping in to my line to be prayed over. It was funny ~ it was because I’m blond and so white (I stood out even more). It is a draw to those who have beautiful dark hair and skin ~ I’m unusual ~ no comments please:). After prayer, we handed out candies to the children for them to enjoy. It was a wonderful introduction to the children and such sweet fellowship!

Photos to follow: