Too Busy Weeks
So much has happened in the last two weeks. We have been running constantly to and fro, seeking where we may inquire. The hard thing about a survey trip is that in our quest to visit different scenes, works, and people, there is a gigantic juggling and balancing act to perform. Numerous factors come into play as we travel: making contacts who are available (and willing), transportation from here to there, dates and times of travel, calendar conflicts, and our deficit of r&r. All of these factors come messily packaged and tied with the bow of culture shock and frequent lack of fellowship. However, interspersed throughout the chaos come rewarding oases. We praise Father for where He has taken us (especially in retrospect!)
Two Sundays ago we awoke with intentions to visit a local fellowship. As we were fixing to break our daily fast (we never eat while sleeping), we were informed that it was advisable that we should leave Delhi ASAP if we were going to make it to our next destination in good time. I mention this because it is almost daily that we receive such timely revelation: “Surprise! You’re late,” and “Hurry up and wait.” So goes our story. Panicked, we pack our stuff and hop on an auto-rickshaw, choke on diesel-fumes for 40 minutes to the bus station, and buy our bus tickets only to find out that we have to wait for six more hours for it to take off. After 24 hours of bumpy road travel, we reach Kashmir.
Kashmir
Kashmir ended up being an oasis for us. The people we stayed with were a fun group who didn’t mind talking about the Lord and rejoicing in His truth. They were truly, truly a joy to be around.
We traveled to a nearby town with them and prayer-walked through the streets. While out walking, Paula and one of the ladies ended up in a Muslim home for tea. Staying for an hour or so, their hostess insisted that they stay for lunch. That is one thing about Muslim culture. They are pros when it comes to hospitality.
Getting into a conversation about George Bush, Paula tried to steer it in another direction: a more profitable one. She asked the man what the five pillars of Islam are. When he listed them, she asked if he prayed 5 times a day. “Well, no.” “What about the fast? Will you keep the fast for Ramadan?” The man quickly admitted that he was not planning to take the fast. She then asked, in light of all this, “What will you do on judgment day?” He sheepishly replied, “that’s a good question.” Not understanding the nature of the justice of God, he believed God to be arbitrary in granting forgiveness. “On judgment day, Allah will decide what will happen to me. He may forgive me. He may not.” Oh, how we pray the Lord opens his eyes to see this is not so!! God is not arbitrary. He has made a very sure way of forgiveness through His Son. Jesus’ death on the cross is enough to pay for sin; sin that the law only multiplies each time you try to follow it.
After being asked a half a dozen times if we were Muslim (me, with my beard and Paula with her head covering), we left Kashmir disappointed that we could not stay longer. It really was an alluring place.
The Quake
The morning after we arrived back in Delhi, a massive earthquake struck just northeast of Islamabad (which is within a hundred miles of where we were in Kashmir). The same roads we had just traveled are now buried in landslides. At 7.4 on the Richter, the quake killed around 40,000 people, burying them in graves of rubble. We praise the Lord for sparing us from any harm, and pray that He would use this disaster for His glory.
Indian Hospitality
Concurrent with the tremors, Paula and I were hanging out with our friends from Greenville, Anish and Ritu (pictured above). They had to come to Delhi only for a short time, so we were excited that it worked out for us to meet up with them. We were able to visit Anish’s house in Delhi and meet his mother, sister and niece. They served us a wonderful Indian breakfast and Paula and Ritu went shopping together afterward. It is funny how far a little bit of hospitality will go. It definitely spills into your outlook and attitude about the culture and the massive sea of people around you. I’ve always thought this was a lesson that many of us in the U.S. could suffer to learn.
Trains in Allahabad
After just a couple days in Delhi, we caught a 10 hour train to Allahabad. Fifteen hours later we stepped off the train and began our supposed three day visit with a brother living there. Within 24 hours we found ourselves packing our bags to leave again.
Our contact for our next stop had a conflict of schedule, and requested that we come right away. This conflict put us in an uncomfortable position. On one hand, we had just arrived to see this brother in Allahabad. He had already tweaked his schedule to accommodate us for the next couple of days, and now we were thinking about leaving. On the other hand, our contact in West Bengal sounded like he really wanted us to come, and it was now or never. From what we knew, it really sounded like God’s Spirit was moving there, so I didn’t want to miss out on this one.
“The train station will decide this one,” I thought to myself. I left to buy a train ticket that I thought would be impossible to secure, it being so late in the game. After the routine fiasco of trying to find someone to help me in my purchase, I found some tickets. Assured that I could upgrade my general admission tickets upon departure, I reached in pocket to pay the fare of 1494 rupees. I pulled out all of the cash in my pockets. I was 9 rupees short of the fare, but wait! The coin money in my right pocket: exactly 9 rupees. I had precisely the correct amount of money that I needed, to the very last rupee. It was as if God said to me at that moment, “Here is your confirmation.”
Paula and I arrived at the train station that evening to wait for our train, the key word in that statement being “wait”. Thus we waited in the congested Allahabad train station, but not without something half-way eventful happening. As Paula and I paced the platform, we noticed a man lying on the dusty concrete floor. His emaciated frame was nearly facedown and his tattered loin cloth barely covered his hips. Paula could not help but think of how hungry he must be.
We have been wary lately of hardening ourselves to the people here, and Paula felt it a necessity to tend to the man. I gave her some money, and she bought two bowls of hot food. She tried shaking his boney arm to wake him up, but a group of men lined up on her right to watch, and with hand motions they affirmed her fear. The man she was trying to wake up was dead.
When our train finally came (4 ½ hours late), we scurried to find the ticket master so he might bump us up into the sleeper car. This too, was not an easy task. Taking the railway system in India can be a tricky adventure. With shady characters sneaking on and off the railcars throughout the night, it is important to get a decent position on the train. We aim for 3-tier AC, and not simply for comfort, but safety. After 21 hours and 52 depot stops, we arrived at our destination in the state of West Bengal. Here we would discover what God was up to.
From Cousins into Brothers
Greeted by a smiling face, we left the train station relieved that we would not have to search all night to find our friend. He found us! When we reached his house, we enjoyed a wonderful American meal, consisting of pot roast, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy. If you think it’s funny that we mention this, it’s not. We haven’t had a meal like that for over 3 months!! It’s big news!
The next day we went with our friend (along with a local Muslim background believer and a Hindu background believer) to visit a town about 6 hours away. It was there that we witnessed one of the greatest miracles of our 6 month journey.
Seven months ago, a 13 year old boy came to faith in Christ in that town. Since then, he has not ceased telling his friends about Christ and his new life in Him. Two months ago, he brought a couple friends to talk with our friends about the Lord, and as a result, 3 more came to faith in Him. This time, one of his friends brought 3 friends, and he brought 3 more of his own. Now, with a total of 6 Muslims in our hotel room, we listened as the Muslim background believer (we’ll say his name is “Isaac”) began sharing Christ with them.
Some of the men, one man in particular, came into the room and greeted us with a “humf.” He was not happy to be there, clearly being drug into this by his friend. For about an hour, he sat in the back with a scowl and listened to Isaac talk about Jesus. We watched with wonder as his face turned from scowling to smiling. He excitedly declared, “This is true!! What you’re saying is true!!” At the end of our time together, Isaac asked the 6 men if they had any questions or if there was anything that was still unclear in their minds. The man quickly volunteered “I have understood everything!”
Another man was a notable case. When he was confronted with his own law and saw how he could not follow it perfectly, Isaac said he had a choice. He could either follow Mohammed and the law, or he could turn to Christ for forgiveness of sins. He angrily declared “I will only follow Mohammed!” At the end of the day, he came to faith in Christ along with all 5 of the other Muslims.
It was incredible. Absolutely incredible. I have never seen anything like it in my life. When clearly presented with the true Gospel, not one of them denied it. They all embraced it. We didn’t even have to twist their arms or anything! They came freely and ready. It was the Lord’s doing.
In the End
As we said before, so much has happened in the last two weeks. Moving from place to place and learning to be “fluid,” not just “flexible” we’ve hardly had time to breath. We’re sorry that it’s taken us this long to let you know what’s been going on over here, but we pray that you rejoice with us in all that God has done. As Jesus said, “My Father is always working.” We know that now.
We don’t know what the next couple weeks will hold for us, but we do know they will be eventful. So please continue to pray for us. Our heads are spinning, but in the mad rush of it all, we get to see God at work.
To view some photos from our time in India, click here.
posted by S and P at 1:57 AM
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