Well
it has been 4 months since Faith and I have returned from our mission trip to
Punjab, India. This was our second trip
to Punjab and rest assured God is still at work in a mighty way there! This trip was a little different (as I will
explain below), and has taken me a little time to absorb and process.
As
with the first trip in 2015, we went with an organization called FAMM (For All
Mankind Movement). Their mission is
simply to spread the gospel to the unreached people groups in the Middle East
and South Asia. They have an incredible
ministry that shares the gospel in the places where these people live, as well
as following up by creating story groups and church plants, and even training
local ministers. It is really an amazing
ministry and you can read more about it here: http://www.compassionkits.com/.
As
I said, this trip was a little different but still followed the same basic format. We spent 6 days in India preparing for and
presenting the Gospel. We started with a
day of acclimation, a couple hours of touring/shopping, and then intensive
training for the group to get ready to go out into the villages. We then broke
off into groups of 3 to spend 4 days in the villages sharing the gospel from
sun-up until after sun-down, and then spend a day of debrief and
reflection. However with this trip,
there were only a total of 8 from the US, so Faith and I were a group of our
own. In addition, we also had a local Pastor/Translator
(Pankaj) that traveled with us. On our
trip in 2015, we had another man from Lynchburg in our group and we had a
separate translator and pastor so this trip we were a total group size of 3
instead of 5. This smaller group tended to make the trip even more demanding as
there were less people to share the responsibilities and worship/preaching each
day.
The
days started with a hearty breakfast and devotion, and then we spent all day driving/walking
to visit people in their homes. This
included getting to know the people (and families and frequently drop-in
neighbors), hearing their needs, praying for them, and sharing relevant Bible
stories that spoke to their situations.
Each evening we would then lead a revival service that they call a
Compassion Kit Party. This service consisted
of music (usually led by the local pastor with instruments and lots of
singing), Faith and I sharing several Bible stories and our personal testimony,
and then us also sharing the gospel story and invitation. After Faith and I were done speaking (all
translated by the Pastor/Translator), the local Pastor would then spend more
time reiterating our message and diving deeper into the truth of the
gospel. The ultimate goal by the end of
the party was to explain the gospel and have people accept the invitation to
receive Christ as their personal savior (There were 156 personal professions in
those 4 days!). Then at the conclusion
of the service, we passed out boxes (called compassion kits) of essentials for
everyone. Not only were we meeting the
spiritual needs of the people, but we were helping to address their physical
needs also.
One
really cool aspect of this trip was that we got to see some of the people we
had met on the first trip. One day we
were able to make a small side trip back to our old host village and see many
of the kids there we had connected with the last time. Additionally, we were able to see the host
mom from the last trip and even meet the host father (he was actually out of
state working when we stayed there in 2015).
We were also able to spend the training and debrief days with our
translator (Baljinder) from last time (who we had kept in contact with) and we
even got to spend a day ministering in the villages with our pastor (Sonu) from
last trip!
One
additional opportunity we had this trip was to visit the Brick Factories. Amazingly, they still make bricks in India basically
the same way they did 2,000 years ago.
Entire families work in these factories sometimes up to 14 hours a day
making only pennies for each brick made.
And the people who work there are usually some of the lowest classes of
people in India so these were truly some of the most unreached people in the
world. Many of them were hearing the
name and truth of Jesus for the very first time!
For
those who supported us on the first trip in 2015, I summarized that trip with
my “4 Ps of Punjab”. These 4 Ps were:
Prayer, Preaching, Playing, People-Loving.
All these areas were big again this trip but I also thought of 3 Fs to
go along side of the Ps this trip. My 3
Fs for this trip were: #1 Faith – we need to have the faith and courage to
share the truth of our faith with those who have not yet heard. This is the
great commission and should always be at the top of our priority list. #2 Friends – In Jesus’ name, we need to be
friends to the friendless, hope to the hopeless, and provision for the
needy. In addition to sharing the
gospel, we need to show the love of Christ through our words and actions. #3 Follow-up – one of the most encouraging
and exciting aspects of this ministry is the follow up by the local
pastor. In the weeks after returning, I
already heard from our local pastor Pankaj that he had started Story Groups
(aka Bible Studies) in some of the villages and at the brick factory!
The
big take-way from this trip for me was all about Obedience. God taught me
about obedience in three basic ways.
First, he impressed on me to be obedient and go on this trip. Faith and I were quite disappointed last year
when the trip was cancelled and we were hesitant to put ourselves out there and
be let down again. Finally, I just
decided that no matter how many excuses I could come up with about why I could
not go on this trip, I trusted that if God wanted me to go, he would make it
happen. Secondly, God spoke to me
through the great commission where He clearly states that we need to “Go and
make disciples of all the nations” (Matt 28:19). The devil was planting feelings of inadequacy
in me about sharing the gospel and reminding me where I fall short. But God taught me not to listen to or heed
these lies from the greatest liar and deceiver of all time. Yes I need to study
and prepare but sometimes he just wants me to show up and he will give me the
words to say at the right time (Luke 12:12).
And finally, God taught me about obedience in being faithful to him and
striving to deepen my relationship with him through study and prayer. I am
reading a devotional on prayer by Tim Keller right now and it is reminding me
of the importance and power of prayer.
One of my life verses is James 4:8 where God gives us this promise “Draw
near to God, and he will draw near to you”.
Well
I could go on and on about the details of this trip, but I want to keep this
letter/blog post readable. I do want to
thank each and every one of you who helped me through prayer and financial
support. I was so encouraged by the support
I received and both Faith and I felt covered in prayer as we embarked on this
journey. Thanks again for your
faithfulness and Obedience in your
support and your walk with the Lord!
For
some pictures of the trip (including a little excursion in New York City during
our return layover), check out this Flickr album. https://www.flickr.com/photos/therudys/albums/72157678247855443
And
again, I would challenge each of you to consider the words of Jesus to his
disciples in Matthew 9:37-38 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field.” There are many to be reached
around the world and even right here at home.
I urge you to seek and pray that God will convict and direct you to your
mission field. But whatever you do,
remember to give God all the glory. We
are all just instruments in the hands of the Master Builder.
Thanks
everyone and blessings to you all!
Kevin
