The greater the darkness, the sweeter the light that pierces through. The greater the void of hope, the more precious the realization of what Jesus has done. Grace is absent in Eastern religion. Shiva saved the world from the devastation of the angry waters of the Ganges and the poison about to destroy humanity. But the requirements to gain his favor are endless and empty. What a contrast to worship on Palm Sunday and see the children singing Jesus’ praise and the men dancing to Indian tunes in praise of what God has done.
We saw the place Buddha taught his first 5 disciples and took a boat on the Ganges where people come for ceremonial cleansing and to die and be cremated on the river bank. They believe the water has spiritual properties that will give them a better existence n their next reincarnated state. How sad to see such strong but misplaced hope. I pray that I would be able to help them in some way with more training.
The pattern we heard in their testimonies is that in desperation they prayed to Jesus and God intervened by healing a child or delivering them from danger. The convert suffered abuse from his/her spouse and family but through perseverance and prayer won others and now whole families are following Jesus. Lay workers took us doing visitation and we met many who had come to Christ and prayed with them for their unsaved family members. In the past eleven years the first church plant has multiplied time and time again so that there are now 34 house fellowships. We taught some of the leaders… and learned so much from them. The pattern was repeated in Varanasi. There one church has become 18 in 8 short years. The workers who have other jobs and many struggles want to start more churches but asked if they should strengthen the existing ones first. We had a good discussion about that.
We flew into Kolkata (Calcutta) in the East. The names means Abode of Kali and at the main temple the priest told us 60 horses are sacrificed to Kali each day and many more goats. We saw people floating wooden statues of Shiva and Kali in the Bengal river as an offering to the Gods. At least, human sacrifices have ended. Every culture has its dark sides, its idolatry and its perversions. My impression is that India just has a more complex mix of false teaching and destructive beliefs. The congested flow of people was overwhelming at times. Personal space does not exist. The diversity and syncretism is mind boggling. Even with Sam’s explanations I sensed it would take the better part of a lifetime to wrap your mind ariunf India. Mark Twain wrote "In religion, all other countries are paupers... India is the only millionaire.” At least other struggle with this: "How can you sort out all these [Hindu] patterns-- family, regional, historical--and come to a simple understanding of the whole? The answer quite simply is: you cannot. No one can, or has, or perhaps ever will“ (Thomas Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, p. 2).
We were impressed with the leaders we met. In Kolkata many were from the Brahmin class. They were young, dedicated, missional, and had amazing testimonies. Suffering is part of their existence and their preparation. How can we help them without spoiling them or tempting them with western clerical models? Look what Buddha did with 5 disciples. Jesus sent out 11 apostles. God is doing great things. We visited some missionaries in New Delhi, a more modern city from the British Colonial period. From there it was a 15 hour flight covering 9 time zones to get home. It will take a while to adjust to the time changes.
Please pray that God will raise up national church planting coaches and trainers in India that will fan the flames and strengthen the multiplication so it carries into several more generations. Pray also for sustainable ways for them to support themselves or for partners to help support these regional leaders so they can develop, empower and release more workers for the harvest.
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