It is said that we go on Mission mostly for what the Good Lord Jesus Christ will teach us. It was apparent from God’s people on the ground daily in India that our trip had some impact on folks there as well. As Dan Grindstaff teaches, our purpose is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable – when I see the folks in India – you can put me in the comfortable group. Steve Peace reminds me that each sermon should be both challenging and encouraging. I would say that this 10 day sermon achieved both. I asked each member of the team to share a short reflection of their time in India. What had the greatest impact on them? How would each describe their visit to India.
The thing that had the greatest impact on me during this trip was the love the Indian converts to Christianity had for their own people. They are truly committed to sharing the gospel and the love of Jesus to their lost family members & neighbors. They are truly God’s ambassadors in one of the most difficult and darkest places to minister. They are a “Light” in a lost world. Their faith and courage to share is what their life is about. They love Jesus and they love India. Very convicting! Can I say the same is true for me? – Joe Matulich
Although this is my second trip to India, the Lord allowed me to experience many new things and refreshed my spirit with His love and the love that He has for His people here. One of the new experiences for me was having the privilege to actually go into some of the homes of the people in the slums and in the village and to pray with them. I was so very humbled at being able to do that, and came to the realization that they are really not so different from myself. We share some of the same needs and we share many of the same joys that life brings to us through our families and our Lord. I was especially touched on the last day by one man’s hospitality as we entered his small one-room home with mud floors in the village. He served us his very best… tea(mixed with coffee since he heard that we liked coffee!) and a small wafer. He was beaming and so excited that we had come into his home, I was struck by the words of a song that we had sung in a home church last Sunday…”Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’; Let the poor say ‘I am rich’ because of all the Lord has done.” In the midst of much darkness and poverty, there are beacons of light here who are very rich in faith and joy, perhaps much richer than myself. – Beth Matulich
The most impact of the work God did in me was when He reminded me that even though I don’t feel I have the gift of working with the aged, He allowed me to sit at the feet of His children and Honor Him while I was humbling myself to the ladies I served. – Julie Schafer
The fact that so little from us meant so much to them, makes me wonder why I (we) don’t give more time to have a positive impact on other’s lives. I think I will make adjustments…. – Susan Snow Wolfe
As I reflect on this trip during the plane ride back home, one word comes to mind, disparity. – Josh Cone
India has pierced my heart. Their faces have made a permanent imprint on my soul. One of the people we worked with us told us we were a Godly injection into India. I would say the lives we encountered were a deep spiritual deposit upon my life journey. It has been a privilege to serve the less fortunate and share “Christ in you is the hope of glory. ” Colosssians 1:27 -Celia Peace
The calling to minister in India is strong. Because it is a part of the world that is the least Christian, I go. Our time in India has been well spent. We have made a difference in the lives of the people to whom we have ministered, and they have made a difference in ours. God has been glorified and hearts have been blessed. God willing, I will return again. – Steve Peace
Kolkata, India: A place overflowing with people surviving on the street! Oh the sights, the sounds, the smells of life on the street are overwhelming to us. How can we have so much and they so little? In sharp contrast, we experience beautiful oasis in many places where Christ is exalted like the New Hope School, Faith Alive, and the Missionary’s of Charity home for the destitute, Prem Dan – to name just a few of the respites from the oppressive environment. How wonderful it is where God’s light is shining strong. And we pray that His light may be increased in us, be encouraged in fellow Christians, and be planted in others because of our visit. – Cheryl Smith
