God does it.

I don't think I've ever mentioned or linked to a sermon from our Pastor, Eric Wait.  While I do give him a lot of guff, my lack of reference to him isn't because of any lack of his effectiveness or lack of respect on my part.  He does a good job with his sermons and sometimes he hits one out of the park.  Well, he doesn't really.  But we'll get to that.

Take the time to download this to your iPod, phone, mp3 player or whatever. You can also just play it on your computer.  Take a listen, look at the outline, and then come back and read the rest of this post.  Here's a link: SERMON

Got it?  Done?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  You just skipped listening and went right on reading this post, didn't you?  Oh well, I expected it.  I'll give you the re-cap, though I think it still would do you good to take a listen.  Eric does a better job than I do.

These lovely ladies didn't make up excuses to avoid coming to the
clinic we put on.  They were already Christian and you could just feel
the spirit hope in their lives.

The text for the sermon is from Exodus 5:22-6:12, although the sermon actually referred to some of the background for this exchange between God and Moses.  In a nutshell, Moses has spent some time trying to get out of what God wants him to do, namely go to Egypt and convince Pharaoh to free the Israelites.  God finally gets fed up and says "Listen up, chump.  You're going and I'm sending you.  Don't worry, I'll provide the skills and tools to get the job done.  I'm going to lay down the smack on the Egyptians and in the process show you, the Israelites, and the Egyptians  that I am God.  I'm going to make it happen and you're the one I'm going to use to do it.  I'll take care of Pharaoh and I'll free the Egyptians.  Just go."

OK, he didn't really say it like that.  I think that's from the BOP (Bob's Obvious Paraphrase) translation of the bible.  Go ahead, look it up.

Like many people, I've read this before....probably many times before.  One of the amazing things about scripture is the way that different people can get different lessons from the same piece of it.  Heck, even the same person can get different lessons from the same portion of scripture.  I've always read the above portion pretty dryly, that is, as if it was just reporting an order of events.  In contrast, Eric was able to extrapolate a lot of lessons out this portion of the word.  In this case I think the lessons that Eric points out were particularly important for me to hear as I prepare for this trip.

EXCUSES:  We all make them and just prior to this exchange, Moses tries to use every one he can think of including his own weakness, his lack of certain skills, the timing, etc.  In the end it all boiled down to the fact that Moses just plain didn't want to do it.  I know I do the same thing all the time.  And, as always happens, God finally has his way.  He sweeps away my excuses, countering each one by giving me the time, energy, tools, money........whatever I need, to do what He want's me to do.  The point is, if He wants us there and doing what He wants us to do, He'll make it happen.

GOD DOES IT:  As Eric pointed out in his sermon, if he were to ask the average person who led the Israelites out of Egypt, a vast majority of them would answer "Moses."  But it's really God that does it and He makes that clear in this exchange.  As He is describing what is going to take place, He uses the personal pronoun "I" almost exclusively.  HE hears the cries of the Israelites, HE deals with Pharaoh.  HE delivers the people out of Egypt.  God uses Moses to do these things, but Moses is just a tool, much like a carpenter uses a hammer to complete a job.

These are all great things to hear and be reminded of as I prepare for this trip.  I can think of a lot of excuses not to go, but in the end there really isn't a good one.  I can and do worry about whether I'll be able to raise the funds, but if God wants me there, He will provide what I need to get there.  Finally, while God used Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery, it was God that actually did it.  He can use me to do the work on the ground in India and He can use you to support me in doing that work, but ultimately it is God who is doing the work and lending the support.

Because of you.........

Wow.  I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I posted to this blog.  My lack of updates doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.  In fact, when it comes to India and, more specifically, when it comes to the region of India I went to and the people we worked with, there has been a flood of activity.  I’ve just not gotten around to writing about it.

If you’ve been following this blog you might remember that during the 2012 trip over 1500 people received medical treatment at the clinics we put on.  Of that number, nearly 500 of them became new believers and professed faith in Jesus Christ.  These numbers exceeded any expectations.  I think they point to a couple of things: the overwhelming poverty in the region that in turn spurred people to seek free medical care, and the desperate need for true hope and spiritual nourishment among these people.

There were a couple of things that we didn’t anticipate.  In collecting the data it was surprising how far people traveled to get to the clinics.  This made it difficult for follow up to be done with these new believers.  The follow up workers are largely volunteers from local churches.  They work regular jobs and it’s worth noting that the average yearly income in this region of India is about $700.00.  In addition to taking time from their regular jobs and families, the issue of paying for traveling expenses was a difficult one for most of the workers to deal with.

Secondly, in follow up visits it also became clear that a vast majority of the people we came in contact with are illiterate, unable to read or write even their native tongue, Assamese.  This presents a unique challenge for continuing the spiritual growth of new believers.  With literate people it is pretty standard practice to leave them with a bible, ask them to read a few chapters, and return in a week to talk about and help them study and understand what they read.  You can’t do that with someone who can’t read.

Working with Indian pastors and field workers, e3 Partners came up with a plan to address these issues.  Due to the generosity of New Hope church, funding was secured to do the following:

• Host a two day training seminar for follow up workers to teach them the art of story telling.  This training will help them present the word of God to an illiterate culture where the sharing of information is based in the oral tradition, much the same way that the gospel was shared with the poor and uneducated in Christ’s time.
• Purchase 100 Audio-Bibles and fund the translation and programming of the devices in the Assamese language.  Audio-Bibles are solar powered MP3 players with built in speakers.  In the place of print bibles, follow up workers will be able to leave these with new believers and, for instance, say “Listen to the first two stories.  I’ll be back in a week and we’ll discuss and study what you’ve heard.”
• Provide some financial support to help offset traveling expenses for ten follow up workers for a six month period.
• Provide total financial support for a District Leader.  He will coordinate and oversee all the volunteers within the district.

This is a picture I took last year and for some reason
it haunts me.  I think it's a matter of contrast.  One
child is smiling and the other two have expressions
that speak of lives with little joy and no hope.

This is all incredibly exciting to me.  Even without the tools, training, and support I’ve outlined above, the nearly 500 new believers from last years mission trip have started eight house churches and added to the congregations of four existing churches in the area.  Imagine the possibilities now that the leaders will have the tools, training, and support they need.

I know this is a longish post and I hope you’ve stuck through it to the end because here is the really important thing you need to know:  None of the above would have happened if YOU hadn’t supported the mission through your prayers and financial support last year.  It was YOU who made all of this happen.  YOU provided medical treatment that gave these people immediate relief.  YOU provided them with the opportunity to hear about the eternal hope that they so desperately need.  YOU are providing the support needed so that these new believers can grow in their faith and share that hope with others.

Lord willing I will be returning to India this coming January.  Today I start the process of raising support in earnest.  In addition to raising support, I’m also recruiting.  Here is a link to information that details the trip.  I’m asking you to add the possibility of going to India to your daily prayers.  I promise you that if you go along you will not only change the lives of the people you come in contact with, but your own life will be changed as well.