Pray for India

"To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: (and Mumbai, India-Lahoma’s addition) Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already head about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may life a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:2-6, 8-12

Many of you know that I recently had the amazing opportunity to travel to Mumbai India and participate in a 10 day mission experience. This was my first time to India, and certainly not my last. I have traveled to many countries like India, and I am usually able to easily submerge myself in the culture, the history, and the social settings… but my problem usually begins when I am coming home. Even the one hour drive home to Orange County on the 405 freeway was visually so different than what I had just seen 27 hours prior on my one hour ride to the airport in Mumbai with small children sleeping in monsoon rain on sidewalks or dirty soaked mattresses under freeway underpasses, MOUNTAINS of rubbish that thousands of people called home along the train tracks and highways and beaches, traffic 8 lanes wide with no guidelines on how to maneuver through pedestrians and mo-peds and taxis and motorcycles and bicycles and starving women with small frail children strapped to their hip, pounding on the windows of our bus desperately asking for food.

We take so much for granted here in the U.S. like fresh air (for the most part), open spaces, beaches you can swim at, clean streets, our roads and transportation systems, fresh water from our taps (even if it doesn’t taste that great, it doesn’t make you violently sick), warm showers, safe neighborhoods, (and in comparison to India… a lot less people!) There are so many overwhelming mental photographs burned in my mind’s eye and when people approach me and ask me, So how was it?, tragically I am speechless for a moment as my mind races and my heart breaks once again, I don’t even know how to begin to summarize in the 30 seconds of their usual attention span what I experienced when I went to India this past month. I know people hope I will quickly respond with great orations of adventures and experiences, and it’s not that I didn’t have those as well as the heartbreaking ones, but I think what was so different about this trip was simply the magnitude of the poverty and the suffering of the people there, especially the children trapped in a vicious and oppressive caste system that rarely lets them escape to any better life than what they have in the gutters and slums. Even in the midst of this horrible life, these children had dignity and respect for one another. We served the street kids of the slums of the brothels, those kids probably had not eaten in days, and yet they sat and waited until every child (over 80) had a plate before they ate…. I had never seen ANYTHING like that and in that frozen moment in time I considered how different it was back here. It is hard to go for any period of time without those memories flooding in wherever I am or whatever I am doing. It stirs within me to try and do something, anything to help them. They need Jesus. They need God to show them that they each have a destiny and a future in God’s plan. My heart cries out to God to intervene and shine over this land and rescue these millions of innocent lives.

Another aspect that always stirs me is the awesome privilege to meet and fellowship with the local Christians there in the country I visit. Their faith is so pure. Since my return, I cannot go very long without seeing their joyful and hopeful faces in my mind’s eye. I miss their hearts and their selflessness. I miss their compassion for the suffering and their passion for the lost. I miss their simple child like faith, their complete belief in God’s Word and that we are to be doing ALL the things that the first century church did in Paul’s day and the apostles day. They don’t waste time analyzing or questioning translations or Greek or Hebrew, they take God at His Word and apply it to their lives literally! That is SO refreshing! These believers can be legally and physically persecuted for their faith in that predominantly Muslim/Hindu nation, and yet they are truly examples of bold lights surrounded by so much darkness and paganism they could lose their lives for their stand for Christ. They are world changers, and they are passionate about reaching their nation for Christ. They have such a big task ahead of them and there are so many things fundamentally wrong with the infrastructure of the country and the government is so corrupt, the people are so stuck in their ways, the poor remain hopeless and the wealthy remain steadfastly stingy and unwilling to help their fellow Indians who starve in the gutters in front of their mansions. Yet within the population are so many people who have such good and open hearts and are so selfless, they would give you anything they had if you needed it. The tiny church is like a small candle in a hurricane of false doctrines and spiritual oppression and yet it shines strong and bold. I feel like Paul in our passage today when he wrote the letter to the church in Colossae and said, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints”. These believers were SO excited that fellow believers from the states would come personally and spend time with them. Our church provided over $600 to the pastor to purchase bibles, and he was brought to TEARS knowing that a small church in California would send such a generous gift to spread the Word of God in his land. The first bible will be given to a young 14 year old boy who gave his life to Christ and who comes from the slums where his mother and sisters work in the brothels. Do you realize that this one bible could reach that entire community for Christ! Our gifts and our presence made a big impact on the local church’s confidence and courage, but the even bigger impact was made on my heart by these Christian brothers and sisters simply for being in their presence and experiencing a tiny glimpse of their spiritual journey, seeing their passion to share their faith no matter the cost. It is something that follows me throughout my day as I work, as I read, as I spend time with friends and share stories of my trip with anyone that will listen. It's like they are always there, with me wherever I go and whatever I do. I see their smiles, their tears, their BEAUTIFUL times of surrender in worship, I hear the Pastor’s gentle strong voice as I read the passages from my Bible that he shared with us when we were there.

Please know, my beloved brothers and sisters that the gospel is truly being preached ALL OVER THE WORLD, and I sincerely pray that my heart and the hearts of those reading this devotion remain on the nations and He gives us a spiritual discontentment if we are not in some way and on some level doing something with the burden to reach the lost in every mission field, including our own back yards. I ask you to pray for the fledging church in Mumbai, for the Pastor and his beautiful wife and three college-age children who lead worship in their small church of about 50 members. Pray now for those who will receive those bibles that were given to this ministry. Pray with Paul in the passage above in Colossian 1 for the church in Mumbai. Pray that God opens doors, and moves mountains, that God pours out His blessing and His anointing on this church that preaches the truth of God’s Word. Pray for angels to stand guard all about them as they travel throughout the cities and colleges and slums there in Mumbai, and pray for Jesus Christ to be lifted up over the nation of India!

Shalom, sister Lahoma

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