Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Still in India !

The experience in Karnataka state is not easy to describe. All pastors at the conference were from different villages and I had a marathon conference, teaching seven hours per day for three continuous days. We did have beautiful moments of worship and prayers. God took me through from the inspiration of Scripture, to inner purity of the leader; and onwards to the prayer life of a leader; and to family life of the leader and so much more.   The pastors and their wives were so grateful; and many came forwards and confessed that their lives were changed and a new vision had been birthed in them. Some confessed, "We have many pastors but not a spiritual father like you". I was so humbled and in the silence of my prayers I cried. I realized how big of a ministry God had placed in my hands. Fire burned through me when I thought of the great responsibility and trust God had placed in my hands.
This time we stayed with Catholic nuns in clean, well maintained rooms(separate from the nuns) and we were so well cared, respected and loved. I personally do admire the sacrifices made by the Catholics in the most remote parts of the world and in India.
The open-air crusade  was held in the village of Mudalgi, about two hundred and fifty kilometers out of Bangalore city. It was a long, very long, never-ending ride. The driver was not sure of the road and we went through a lot of forest and very rough roads. We saw lots of 'rhesus' monkeys along the way. It was a joy when we finally arrived. The whole village had gathered to hear the Word. The crowd were a mix of Christians, many new converts , and many Hindus. Hindu political leaders were present on stage and one was at one time a great opponent of the Christian faith. The night was dark and cold with winds blowing, but the crowds stayed till the very end and it was about 10.30pm when the meeting finished. The Holy Spirit annointing was so great and many hundreds gave their lives to the Lord. Hands were lifted up all over the open field when I made the altar call. Many others came forwards for prayers; some in tears.
The ride back was once more rough and hours later in bed I could feel the fatigue and all my muscles ache. But I was overwhelmed by the joy of the Lord and very thankful to minister in this remote village in India. My translator was overtaken by the power of the Word and he was caught up in total silence after the meeting.
Right now I am in the city of Hyderabad after a twelve hour ride by train. Got up with a muscle cramp on my back and I have not been able to walk straight today. Hmmm - Isn't it awful !!!
Pray much for me as I continue with the ministry here in India.


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

In India - January 2012

I have been so busy with the meetings and it has not been easy to get to a cyber cafe. Sorry about that.
My flight from Philadelphia was delayed by three hours(2nd January 2012). There was a a computer problem with the plane. In London we were delayed for ten hours and there were lines of people waiting to reschedule their flights.
Finally I arrived in Delhi and there was another delay. After about an hour on the runway we were told that the flight was cancelled. The good Lord put some 'joy' and wisdom into my head and I did as the Lord directed me. After we came out of the plane and picked our luggage I approached a stranded traveller and said 'Could we hire a taxi to Chandigarh and share the costs'. He did agree but we needed four more to fill the taxi (a minivan sort of vehicle). I walked straight to a stranded group of Chinese travellers and they were exactly four. They did not understand English; finally with a little broken English and handsigns I convinced them to join us in the ride. It all worked out well and the six hour ride from Delhi to Chandigarh took us through very heavy rains. Thank God for the wisdom and for his guidance that I was in Chandigarh for the meetings that began on the 5th of January. This trip was probably the most interesting in terms of the delays. Oops I forgot - the delay began in Quarryville when we were just getting out of the house to go to the airport. The keys to our Honda mysteriously went missing and it took us over twenty minutes to finally trace it !!!!
Sorry I have to cut short at this point. Will come back. The meetings in Punjab were really blessed and right now I am in a village in Karnataka. Not very accessible to computer services.
Keep me in your prayers. Love you all.