Comfort

Hello Everyone!

I am long over due  for a blog update, so buckle up! The last couple weeks have been exciting and challenging. Last week, we had a medical team from Ohio come, so we helped them with medical camps . We got the privilege of going to a different village every day. By the grace of GOD, we got to serve hundreds of people's physical needs. For many of the people in this village, this would be the only chance to receive medical care for a very long time. 

I would like to share a quick story from last Wednesday  with you.

 "So we were at a medical camp and I was helping the Optometrist who had come to serve. After lunch, we got back to our eye glasses-distribution table, when about 60 people crowded the table. We couldn't get them to form a line and they were all crowding the table yelling. Mostly, they were yelling at each other because they all wanted to be first to get glasses. It reminded me of my 1st grade class fighting to be the first in line for lunch, except these were grown adults and they were much angrier. A few men started to get physical with one another. It turned into a mini riot, and we could not gain control. 

In the midst of all the craziness, I noticed a younger man right in the middle of the crowd. He was not yelling like everybody around him. He was holding a little baby girl in his arms, who, by some miracle, was sleeping. I looked into his eyes and saw that they were rolled to the back of his head. He had some kind of birth deficiency  that left his eyes out of place. After the crowd was controlled (which took about 15 minutes) the line got moving again. The man finally got his turn to see the eye doctor after waiting very patiently. When he got to the doctor, the doctor explained to him that no glasses could fix his eyesight and that there was nothing that could be done for him. He walked away slowly and my heart immediately broke for him. He had so much hope to be healed and then it was crushed.

I could not keep my eyes off of him as he walked back into the streets of the village. I had one of those moment of hesitation, where the Holy Spirit was clearly telling me to go and pray for him, but I ignored it. Finally, the man turned a corner and I had no idea where he went. But I still heard that still voice in my head saying "GO". So I started running down the village street, hoping to somehow catch the man. I turned a corner and it was as if he was waiting for me. He hadn't gone far at all. I approached him and asked if I could pray for him. I got to pray for him and his daughter. I prayed that he could receive physical healing, but more importantly, spiritual healing." Our GOD is faithful and I believe this man will be healed.

This weekend was good as always, I preached at an english service, So for once I didn't have a translator. I spoke about my favorite passage Matthew 25:31-45 and the importance of loving the least. My favorite thing to talk about!

This week has been very difficult for me. I received news on Monday that my Grandfather had passed away. I am so incredibly thankful for the 18 years I had with him. Although, I am finding it very difficult to  be away from my family during this time, but GOD is good and he is the Ultimate Comforter! He is changing and growing me through it all. Glory to GOD.

Praise and Points:

• Praise the Lord for the physical needs that were met last week by the medical team!
• Praise the Lord for pushing me to do things that often seem uncomfortable!
• Pray that GOD would change the lives of the college boys we are witnessing to.
• Pray for that man in the village, that he will be healed physically and spiritually
• Pray for my family back at home as they are mourning and organizing a funeral.
• Pray that the Comforter will help me continue my work to honor my Him and my grandfather as well.

 

Day by Day

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. There hasn't been a whole of new things to tell you. I am loving each day here. With each day, I grow more and more in love with the people here and with the work that I am doing. 

Last week I got sick for about four days so that was difficult. As you can imagine I wanted to be in the comfort of my own home, as we all do when we are sick. So, it was difficult for me to want to be here. Thankfully, GOD brought me out of that and I feel great now. I am so glad that I am here.

Something that has been on my mind a lot since I have been here is what I will do when I get back. Specifically long term goals like what I will be doing with my life, where will I work, and how do I get there. Just long-term life decisions that I have been letting consume, and I am afraid I will miss out on things here if I am constantly thinking about when I get back to America. So, as of last night, I am trying my hardest to take in this whole experience one day at a time. Not focusing on the future. 

I am growing a lot here. I can see how this experience is going to change me. That is a scary, but exciting, thing to think about. Now that I am little more comfortable here, I am trying to be more outspoken and confident in my approach of sharing the Gospel. Also, I have noticed GOD giving me a very deep love for these college boys that I am getting to minister to every single day! I want SO BADLY for them to become disciples of Jesus. After this experience, I truly want to see them in heaven.

Praise and Prayer Points:

• Praise GOD for restoring my health.
• Praise GOD for the work that IGL is doing.
• Praise GOD for the wonderful family that takes care us interns.
• Pray that these college boys would come to know Jesus as their ONLY GOD
• Pray that I can be more dangerous in sharing the Good News.

India Time

Hello everyone!

So, I haven't posted in awhile because I have been very busy. I started my schedule last week and have been moving pretty fast ever since. I am loving every minute of it though! I am getting to do such a variety of things.

One of the things I had to get used to was India time. I am not talking about the clock. Rather just the sense of timing that they have here in India. They don't live by their clock like we do in the west. So, if they say we are leaving at  9:30 for something, we will leave by about 9:45, or the entire plan will change and we will go somewhere different than we had planned. It is very interesting to get used to that, yet I love the way they are laid back about everything.

So, I got a good taste of this India timing this weekend, when I was told on Saturday afternoon that I would be preaching Saturday night for a bunch of girls from the college, most of whom are Hindu. Luckily, the Holy Spirit works very well with India timing, He gave me words to speak to these students when I preached to them.

I was also given the privilege to preach at a village church on Sunday. I spoke about the story of Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. I was very blessed by the people at the church. After the message, many people came to the front and asked for prayer from our intern team (4 of us). Many came up for physical and emotional healing. Glory to GOD.

I am loving getting to know the team here on the IGL campus as well. There are three other interns here: 2 girls from Germany and 1 girl from Ohio. So, yes, I am the only boy! Although I do get my fix of male bonding time when I go to the college boys' hostel twice a day, once for devotions and once for sports! We do get some short-term teams coming in as well. We are about to say goodbye to a team from Australia. I will very much miss my their accents.

GOD Bless

Praise and Prayer Points:

• Praise GOD for allowing me to preach His Word twice this weekend.
• Praise GOD for all the work IGL is accomplishing for His Kingdom
• Pray for the IGL Staff and their families.
• Pray for the college boys, that we may show them Jesus.
• Pray for that village church to grow in numbers.