Tues 1/29 – Dani drove Karen and me to Portland. Stayed overnight at hotel and made the plane with no problems. Met Boya (Calif), Grady (Portland), and Shauntel (Portland) at the airport.
Wed 1/30 – Good flights. Made a friend of an Italian man on his way to Chennai. One hour layover was perfect because the second flight out of Frankfurt was in the same terminal.
Thurs 1/31 – Billy and Rajkamarie met us at the airport and it was a great reunion. We were tired and fog headed. I slept at his mother's house while the rest slept at Sudha's.
Fri 2/1 – Spent the day running errands in Chennai. Very jet lagged; Need some sleep.
Sat 2/2 – The three guys from the Extreme Team arrived (Tim, Gary, and Rick). Great guys with a real heart for the Lord. Tim and Rick are blind. I am rooming with Rick and trying to guide him and be careful about not leaving stuff around for him to trip over. Left for the 3 hour crazy drive to Vellore City. Nice hotel, the Grand Krishna.
In my quiet times the Lord keeps leading me to scriptures about being sent to the nations to proclaim the Good News with power and authority. Mal 3; Psm 40; Luk 8; Jhn 17. Very excited to see what God does.
Sunday 2/3 – Did not sleep well. Preached four times at four locations. Went into it foggy headed and wondering how the Lord was going to use us. Karen, Kristen, and I were together. The testimonies from Karen and Kristen were anointed. Made many beautiful Indian friends. I love these people and that makes it a joy to encourage and teach them in the Lord. Karen was a trooper using the rustic toilet facilities out in the village. She is doing very well.
Got a nap at the hotel and felt good for the first time. Taking lots of vitamins and Airborne to avoid the colds going around. The first days are critical to get adjusted to the sleeping schedule without getting sick. We are 13 ½ hours ahead. The food is great but not so good for the tummies of some of the team. Karen, Shauntel, Michael, and Grady are sick from colds or food.
I am really enjoying the people on the team. Rick and I are good roomies. He also knows magic tricks so we are sharing secrets.
Mon 2/4 – Off to medical camp in village. Feeling close to the Lord and ready to minister. God has been giving the message, "Bring them out." It was a two hour ride into the hills through neat squares of electric-green rice paddies, rutted roads, wandering Brahma cattle, sugarcane fields, banana trees, and school children stricken in amazement by a van full of white people. We finally climbed into perfect cool weather to the mountain village of Nampiyumpetu. This was the real India.
A national husband and wife doctor team were already at work with the clinic and due to a miscommunication of time most of the patients had come and gone by the time we got there. Karen joined the medical types and the rest of us set up to pray over people. As I explained to my first guy how his spirit could be healed along with his body the interpreter pointed out that a crowd was listening in so we stood up and addressed the larger group. The interpreter, Asher, was experienced with the Gospel and for my every five word sentence he would explain using about 20 Tamil words. These villages have never heard about who Jesus is or why He died so we explained it in simple terms. We told them if they were ready to have all sins forgiven in exchange for devotion to Christ alone then they should sign up on our decision cards. Over the next couple of hours different groups came and went and this process of preaching the Gospel was repeated by Asher without any American help. I told Michael, "This is the way it is supposed to work."
Many school children came and we gave out the 100 Gospel bracelets that Dani and the ladies had sent from Washington. Asher explained the meaning of the beads (black for our sin, red for the blood of Jesus who took our punishment, white for our purity after Christ forgives, green for growing in Jesus, yellow for the gold in the promised heaven). I left money for Asher to buy more beads and give the rest of the students bracelets on a return visit. 32 decision cards were completed and that was enough that Asher and his father agreed to start going to the village once a week to follow up and to form a church. They already minister to 24 other villages as pastors.
A man that was in the first group that accepted Christ returned later with another in tow and said, "This is my brother and he also wants Jesus." We stood under an ancient acacia tree and through an interpreter I phrased a prayer that he repeated to repent and swear allegiance to Jesus. I felt the awe a doctor must feel after delivering twins.
As the team continued to pray for healings five of us meandered through the village and got some awesome pictures of life just as it was 1,000 years ago in India. Asher came looking for us and said, "It is not safe for you to be alone here because these people are not civilized."
I am so glad we introduced that forgotten village to the truth of God's love and now the darkness, fear, and uncivilized ways can be chased away by the Light.
When the other half of our team returned from a school and an orphanage they were animated as they shared the results that included 25 decisions for Christ. We are too excited about all the Lord is doing to notice we are running on little sleep and missing meals now and then.
Tues 2/5 – Began with a college presentation by the Extreme Team breaking bricks, bending steel, tearing phone books, and sharing the Gospel. It was fun to watch but after the first of two meetings we were told by the President we should not have given the invitation because the Hindus might consider it coercion into Christianity. Those from the East are not independent minded and would feel compelled to do whatever was asked of them in mass so I can understand the concern. No translation was provided because the college students speak English however they could not understand our accent so the whole thing fell rather flat on hundreds of ears.
In the evening Boya and I spoke at an Industrial Workers' Conference in Ranipet. Grady led music and the Extreme Team also presented. The meeting started late by 1 ½ hours as is usual for the culture so we used the time to pray and anoint the building. We were so prayed-up that as I preached on ultimate fulfillment the Spirit gave me more passion then I ever recall. Due to miscommunication the event was held in a church instead of a public hall so mostly Christians came, about 200+. There was one decision for Christ and Michael prayed Christ's power over a demonized lady. If all that effort and prayer combined with the hundreds of prayers from our supporters produced only one new believer then it was a good night because eternity would be a very long time for that one person to spend in hell.
Michael closed the meeting neatly but then three or four national pastors took turns mumbling unwanted accolades about our team along with other mundane announcements. By the time they were done the sweetness of the night's message was sufficiently diluted so as to be forgotten. I love many of India's cultural elements but I'm not so hot on this one. It was good that it happened because it reminded us to take pains to not let it happen again at the upcoming festival meetings where there will be thousands present.
Wed 2/6 – Began at another primary school. I ate some byrani (the national dish) the night before that was handed out after the event. That was foolish and while Grady and the Extreme Team presented I found relief among the student's toilets which is a hole in the ground and a bucket of water—you do the math.
God is dangerously protective of children. I would not want to be the one to mislead any one of the 850 black-headed brown-faced cherubs that sat before our stage in neat rows. Our evangelistic team led them in songs and dance. The room was long and narrow so the children had to sit cross-legged and nested against each other. The result was a compression of bright eyes and white teeth bobbing amidst a sea of blue gingham uniforms. The aggregate face-energy combined with the blast of singing put me at the foot of heaven's throne to experience God's view. Something of the love exchanged between Father and His followers passed through my being and I knew without a doubt He guarded these innocents.
Rick concluded our program with an invitation to stand up if they wanted to receive Jesus. He dramatically counted one-two-three and pled, "Stand." Every head jerked about to see what they were supposed to do. At first no one stood then after more confusion of translation everybody stood. The principal told them all to sit while another man tried to get only those who wanted Jesus to stand. But it was a Christian school and they all wanted Jesus or already had Him and still wanted Him so were they to stand or sit? No one seemed to know and yet everyone was eager to do the right thing. I was still partially transported and felt Heaven's mirth at our situation.
Jesus paid a horrible price at the cross to save us from consternation over the right way to approach God. Sit for Jesus, stand for Him, say a prayer, cross yourself, turn around three times—it does not matter as long as we come through Jesus. To say otherwise is to doubt His sufficiency. It is a wide open Jesus-fest and all are welcome.
In the evening we went to the festival grounds for a couple of hours to pray over it with about 100 nationals. It was a powerful time.
Thur 2/7 – Held another clinic. Karen took blood pressure all day in the intense heat. She held up well but saw a lot of grizzly stuff not fit for this G-rated journal. The rest of us prayed over and gave the Gospel to people one-on-one. A man came in who recently converted to Christ and was chased by Hindus wanting to beat him. He was very afraid and we prayed over him and gave this scripture:
Matt 5:11-12
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
In the evening we began four nights of festivals. The first night we had about 5,000 attend. Michael preached and the Extreme Team did wild feats of strength. Many accepted Christ for the first time. I tried to lead the children away during the invitation so we could minister to them. It was impossible to get 1,000 children to sit and be orderly. I stood on chairs and did a few magic tricks to get their attention but then we were to break into groups of 15 for instruction from trained nationals. For some reason only one national was available. We were overrun by hyper children and little was accomplished. As we stood in the middle of the press a rock struck the prayer pastor on the forehead and left a lump with a tiny cut. Spurred by wicked spirits there are many hostiles mixed into the village crowds. Nevertheless I was able to lead two teenage boys to accept salvation.
Rick prayed over a man with a growth on his head the size of half a ping-pong ball. As he prayed he felt the lump disappear under his hand. All in all our team prayed over hundreds of people. Who but God knows what all was accomplished in the heavenly realms.
Fri 2/8 – In the morning Esther, Kristen, Karen, Shauntel, and I spoke at a women's conference. I had to leave just after speaking so I could prepare for preaching at the festival. Kristen and Shauntel led about five to the Lord after they spoke, including a Hindu woman. This woman's father committed suicide 15 days before and she was searching for hope. Some Indian women had been bringing her to their church and she was reading the Bible. Our girls were in the right place and time to be used to see the troubled soul set free.
For the evening festival we had between six and eight thousand. Grady led music and even sang some songs in Tamil. Many people gathered around me as I sat in a chair and they prayed for my preaching. One pastor grabbed my head and rattled my brain as he prayed for…I don't know what, the evil spirits out or the Holy Spirit in??? I got the giggles. Stepping onto the stage as the keynote was a huge privilege. The interpreter and I got into a groove until I said, "The false gods have not died for your sins." He went silent and shook his head no. He was unwilling to start a riot by offending the thousands of Hindus. I defer to the wisdom of the national pastors because they are the ones who will stay and live among whatever work we leave behind. Nevertheless it makes me recall the words of Jesus:
Matt 10:34
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
Many came to first time decisions while a demonized man thrashed around at the foot of the stage. A policeman tried to assist in controlling the crazy until a big woman stepped up and grabbed the demoniac's hair and held on for control. He was swinging out at everybody and those coming forward left a clearing around him. The Holy Spirit had me ignore the demon and focus on the 200 or so who came for salvation and healing. It was an awesome time, Jesus was glorified, and I slept like a baby last night.
Note to self: Do not wear a long white Indian shirt under the stage lights or you become walking fly-paper for all manner of bugs.
Sat 2/9 – Morning was spent at an orphanage about an hour's drive into the country. 65 beautiful kids squeezed into a small room painted years ago in lime-green but now worn to patina. Grady and the Extreme Team presented. Those poor guys, they are big and wear red and black sports suits with jackets. How they withstood the heat in a room of compressed little bodies I do not know. I stayed out in the drizzle of rain and watched through the bars in the window. Before leaving we had a great time swinging the children around outside. Each one of them is so special. It was sad to see that the man who ran the orphanage was mean to the tikes.
The festival this evening was crowded but some spiritual funk hung over the place. The Extreme team's stunt of breaking bricks that were on fire would not happen. The inferior kerosene simply would not light. Children were distracted, the flow stuttered. Still Grady did a great job preaching and many came forward.
During prayer I had no interpreter and too many supplicants pressing in. I had to do a group prayer and began by anointing the foreheads of about a dozen people with oil then praying the gifts of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 into their lives. Later a national pastor asked me if I spoke Tamil because he saw the faces intently listening. I had to agree it appeared they were straining but comprehending my longish prayer. Could it be that the gift of interpretation from the second chapter of Acts was at work in their ears?
Sun 2/10 – Every time I minister in India it feels like living a whole year in a few weeks. This morning the team was split up among six churches again. Karen, Shauntel, and I were at an energetic assembly of about 100 beautiful believers. The pastor asked those who were Christians when the church began to raise their hands and only four families did so, all the rest were converted Hindus.
It was awesome that the Lord directed me to focus the message on worship and testimonies. I had planned to ask our team and the nationals to give each other testimonies but before I could mention any of these plans to the pastor he led out two songs centered on the Tamil word for worship. Next he asked several of his people to stand and give testimonies of what God is doing in their lives. We obviously both serve the same Lord. It was a holy time. The highlight for me was calling the children forward for a blessing; beautiful round faces drank in the goodness God poured onto them.
Standing outside after the service Karen pointed out the fear in a young woman's eyes. The pastor said she was a new believer and afraid of her situation with an all Hindu family and a baby in her to be born any day. I prayed over her then Karen embraced and held the weeping woman; not a cultural norm but perfectly appropriate for the moment as the Spirit led.
Mon 2/11 – Rest in the morn, shopping in the back-street bazaars, then the 2 ½ hour drive back to Chennai to begin ministry anew tomorrow in the Village of Minjur.
Tue 2/12 – In the am we presented to two schools that also house orphans. Our routine is Grady on silly songs and juggling, me on magic, the Extreme Team on feats of strength, then one of the other members gives a testimony and message. Several times I have heard those on our team say they are impressed at how well we have all worked together. The children are so stinking cute. I want to tuck a few into my luggage.
We lunched at Pastor Abraham's house. A board was laid on the bed and we used it as a table. We had wonderful Indian food made with purified water, no hot pepper, and served on banana leaves. They even dug out a few spoons but no one took them up on the offer and we all ate with the fingers of our right hands. The afternoon was spent at another school/orphanage. These kids are the absolute highlight of the trip for me. We stopped at an American restaurant for dinner—boring—then fell into bed around 10pm.
Wed 2/13 – Back to Minjur for two schools in the morning, lunch at a wonderful brother's house, some open village ministry, an orphanage in the afternoon, then prayer time in the evening with the Indian Intercessory Prayer Team. During the prayer I had an awesome opportunity to speak to 10 upper grade level Hindu girls. They listened intently as I adapted the parable of the Prodigal Son to two daughters. They were beautiful treasures and I had to force myself to believe all ten accepted the reality of Christ's forgiveness and none opted instead for an eternity of separation from the Source of joy.
Thurs 2/14 – Ended today with an AIDS orphanage. Even though some of these children were dying they were the most joyful of all the kids we met. The Extreme Team left early this morning so the rest of us took turns sharing silly songs, magic, stories, and gifts. Yesterday when we made the arrangements to visit there were 15 children. Today there were 14. One had to be taken to a terminal care center. She will not return. The administrator warned us not to contact the open sores on one boy' head, other than that we loved on them and prayed over them. They have no fixed income and wait on God only one loaf of bread away from starvation.
Later we went to the beach for an hour of relaxation then off to the airport to send the rest of the team home. Tomorrow I fly to Pakistan.
Fri 2/15 – The flight to New Delhi was about 15 minutes late. I was to transfer to Indian Air for the rest of the trip but the Delhi airport is a bit disorganized. While I waited an hour and a half for an inter-terminal bus the plane left without me. I was told Pakistan Air has one flight a week to Lahore which is tomorrow so there must be some providence involved. The airline agreed to comp a hotel and food until I could get another flight. It took exactly 4 ½ hours of sitting in a dingy unmarked office for them to find a hotel and process the interminable paperwork. God gave me patience through humor. About two hours into it the nightshift supervisor came boisterously into the office and by way of greeting he grabbed the butt of the female dayshift supervisor; we are not in Kansas anymore Toto.
Mr. Bottomgrabber said to me, "Please give us one or two minutes more." At the three hour mark another man said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, please give us just ten minutes more." At the 4 ½ hour point everything was finally ready and I found my way out to a taxi and noted a row of bodies sleeping on the sidewalk with blankets over their heads and hundreds of noisy people walking around them. The sight squelched any complaints from me and I was humbled by the good bed I fell into at 1am. Nevertheless I think we have proof that Einstein's theory of the relativity of time is true; two minutes in Indian time is 4 1/2 hours elsewhere. I called the contacts waiting and worrying in Lahore and told them I would make another run at Pakistan tomorrow.
Sat 2/16 – Travel day. Made it into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan without further complications and stayed in an apartment above a church in Lahore. A 22-year-old Evangelist by the name of Azeem slept outside my room for protection on account of the terrorist activity from the election scheduled for Monday. The brothers explained that Pakistani children massage their parents in the evenings as a sign of respect. So I submitted to an hour of back and leg massage before sleeping. The temperature dipped to about 40 F in the night and my one blanket was not quite enough.
Sun 2/17 – The houses are decidedly Middle Eastern with square edges, protruding log rafters, and multilevel flat roofs all coated in brown mud. One dwelling connects to another creating a ramble of squares, cubbies, nooks, stairs, windows, and rooftop patios. The favored mode of transportation is a donkey pulling a wooden cart. A little brown man peers out of his shawl wrapped around head and body while bouncing along behind the trotting beast. I see more Arabic influence than Indian.
It turns out we will not be in Lahore at all but five hours away in the village of (Undisclosed). We rose at 5am to make it to the village and speak at the Sunday services then begin the pastor's seminar in the afternoon. On the way we passed through several other villages and I noted something significant missing: the women. Only men sat in clusters or walked about because Muslims consider it indecent for women to be seen in public. It appeared like a female rapture had occurred.
In the green wheat fields outside (Undisclosed) a half dozen men awaited our arrival to place a garland of roses and lilac on our necks and toss flower petals over the dignitaries (I laugh at the role) and the car. We drove slowly through the main street attracting great attention by the flower strewn car and throng of attendants.
Years ago this village converted in mass, all ten thousand, from Islam to Christ. In 1997 neighboring Muslims raided the village looting, destroying, and burning. The people of Jesus refused to retaliate or become bitter and simply rebuilt. My guides pointed out the buildings that were remade with red brick after the tragedy. Only about 50% were the original brown. Today there are 10 packed Christian churches and one mosque of 25 people. The village is alive with friendly faces, boys flying homemade kites, and women out in the open enjoying life.
I am here to be used of the Lord for five days in spurring on the Pastors, Evangelists, and their wives who go out from (Undisclosed)to minister in the Muslim communities. I am quite safe; they are in grave danger. It inspires me that they fear God more than man. As I waited to address the group of 85 they were singing in the church below me and the passion of their song made me wonder how I could teach them anything. Nevertheless the lesson on how we are the temple of God was well received.
The massages continue, this time by Erfan, my personal ARMED bodyguard and tailor by day who offered, "Make Brother Don good Pakistani pants." They are baggy comfortable looking things so I might just take him up on the offer, but enough fun for one day—off to sleep.
Mon 2/18 – We are holding sessions from 9-11:15, then 11:30-1, then 3-5 each day so I am teaching a lot and praying my voice holds out in spite of a cold finding its way into my throat. The Lord is blessing our seminar in ways I never would have imagined. For instance, today I gave a spiritual gifts inventory test of 140 questions. The goal was to add up the scores in each category to determine what gifts they had. I left the interpreter to work through the questions with the participants. At question number 50 the group broke into loud singing and worship. I went down to the church and found everyone kneeling on the floor praying and weeping. They got to the questions that deal with our weaknesses and were smitten in humility so they decided to stop and worship. I could not understand the prayers but the heaven-renting urgency melted my own heart in repentance. Phew, it was an intense time. We will try to get through the rest of the questions and the original point of the exercise tomorrow yet I know God's primary goal is already complete.
Each evening we walk through the village and out into the green fields for exercise. What a treat to stop into quaint mud homes with donkeys and cows tethered in the walled compound and find the family eating around an open air fire. Add a manger and a baby and you would have the perfect nativity scene. We picked some sugarcane and crunched the sweet pulp as we talked about our cultural differences and they tried to teach me Urdu. I heard a shout in the night with fire crackers and realized the men were celebrating the election results so we made it through the tension charged days without incident.
Tues 2/19 – Taught today on gifts of the Spirit, forgiveness of others, and a message for the women that used the lessons Dani gave in India. We wrote the names of people we were angry at on slips of paper and burned them to release the bitterness to God.
Since arriving our cook has been a wonderful servant of God named Prevene. For my sake she slowed the use of red peppers but tonight she took her foot off the break. You know it is hot when even the nationals mop their brow and complain. One man sent his unfinished plate back to the kitchen. By the grace of God and prayer cover I made it through with only red ears that all the Pakistanis thought were extremely entertaining.
Got a double massage tonight from my two body guards simultaneously. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
Wed 2/20 – Taught all day so now I am really tired. I wonder how school teachers do what they do so faithfully. In the evening we walked out in the fields again but this time to a broad canal. A giant orange sun dropped through the haze from thousands of cow dung cooking fires while the full moon rose above the wheat fields on the opposite horizon. In the summer the same fields grow cotton. It is an amazingly fertile and green land. We stopped at a farmhouse and watched sugarcane pushed through a grinder powered by a tractor. Out poured syrup that was then heated in a shallow pot five feet across. The pot was nestled into the ground with a tunnel beneath for a wood fire. After boiling the goo it was cooled in large square troughs where it became candy that tasted something like sugar mixed with molasses. Everybody we passed was friendly and gave the single vertical palm greeting with the word salaam which means peace.
Thrus 2/21 – Gave the women in the audience an opportunity to compete for the wordless book Dani made and sent with me to be used in child evangelism. To win the ladies had to recite an entire chapter of the Bible from memory. It took about 10 women until one came forward and made it through flawlessly by closing her eyes, raising her hand, and reciting a Psalm as a prayer. Would there be 10 women in any of our North American churches that could recite a whole chapter? Finished the seminar with preaching practice from the brothers. They did an outstanding job. Only one in the lot seemed a bit boring and had no illustration. All the rest will be able to draw a crowd in any village by showing up and speaking out. I told them, "The Good News is in good hands in Pakistan."
My translator had a death in his family so I took the five hour bus ride back to the Lahore airport with three non-English speaking brothers. The trip had many interesting moments where I had no idea what was going on or where we were going so I prayed for peace and just followed and wound up at the airport. One sees so many funny things traversing the Pakistani roads: Trucks with a two lane wide load bulging like an overstuffed goose, farm tractors decorated with every imaginable trinket including fans twirling in the wind on the bumper, and a lorry (truck) loaded 20 feet high with live sheep. The wooly critters were packed in layers and hundreds of eyes peeked over the high wooden sides. The funniest part was the crown of the lorry. It was made of a semicircle arch covered with a cargo net of fist-sized holes. The topmost level of sheep lay on the net with their legs dangling through the holes. They were not tied down but there nothing to push their feet against to get free. They were stacked so close it bordered on cruelty but as their ears flopped in the wind the sheep simply looked about as if to say, "I don't know why we are here; do you know why we are here?"
I will miss my new friends in the family of God; Johnson with his undaunted cheer, Sameen and her singing in the kitchen, Azeem always borrowing my camera to ensure I was photographed from every possible angle, Yoseph and dancing with him in front of the church before the Lord, Preveen and her sheepish smile whenever I praised her cooking, Saba and her valiant attempts at English, William and Erfan and their massages and protection, Baba who called me son and refused to let go of my hand, and so many more. Beautiful people all, living valiant lives of faith in the face of bitter persecution. I commit them into the hands of our strong Father.
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