the next morning

Namaste! Thanks for all the comments, guys, I feel so loved. I will hereby post some pictures. I'm not sure which ones are on the India site, so if there are duplicates ... you can feel cool because you know. These are a few of my favs:

This was on the wall of a church under construction in the second village.

Me and some of the Indian pastors. It was the first day we got fruit. I was excited.

Beautiful faces

Kids doing a traditional stick dance at the church.

This woman is an intercessor. I'll tell you all about her in an ensuing post.

The girls.

Sarah being rehydrated. That's a whole story for later.

Missionaries.


In the second to last village Justein and I met an old woman. The thinnest of all the thin, old Indian women and adorable. She can't hear or see well, and when she started talking to herself one of the other women pointed out to our translator that the woman is a little out of her mind. We prayed for her, but nothing much happened. I wanted to talk with her more (or try), so we asked her to sit in a chair for a minute. She sat for about a minute, and left.

We took a break for lunch and told the rest of the women to come back for prayer around four. A couple hours later we were on the floor, surrounded by saris again, and this old woman came back. I was elated. She sat down and after a couple minutes started to cry. I asked Vyola why she was crying and she said the woman couldn't understand why we wouldn't pray with her. She'd forgotten about this morning already. We prayed again - for clarity, for her eyes, for her ears. Nothing. Initially I was frustrated because she was the only old woman in the village who had not been healed. After she disappeared again, frustration turned to worry.

The woman is old and frail and losing it. It's not pessimistic to say she's not going to last much longer, but how to you communicate the gospel to someone who, by the time you get to the third day, has forgotten the part about her creation? I struggled with her for a while, and eventualy gave her to the Lord with a desperate, "Holy Spirit, You have to do something."

We did the evening service that night and it was my turn to give the gospel after the main drama (which very effectively sets up the gospel). I got through the message, close your eyes, raise your hands, stand up, and I started to communicate the gravity of the commitment the respondants were about to make when I saw her. She was at the front corner of the crowd, standing probably three feet from the speaker. I threatened them about giving up other gods, skipping Hindu festivals, and the disapproval of some of their families/neighbors, all the while praying in my spirit that this little woman would not sit down. I gave a final call and she didn't flinch. Hands raised, she turned her life over to Christ, and I have never come closer to the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than I did that night.