Cathy's India Mission Trip
November 2007
I am back from two amazing weeks of ministry in India. I led a team of four women from our church, Tri-Lakes Chapel. This team was formed in response to God’s call on each of our hearts. It began with Prati Stephens, leader of Women With a Mission in India, speaking in our church this past February. Prati asked for a team of women to come and teach with her in one-day conferences for women in Tamil Nadu, South India. For some of us it was an easy decision to say “yes” to God’s call. I was excited to see what God was doing in this part of the world, and to learn about possible ministry strategies that could be used in Europe. For others it required stretching out of our comfort zone and trusting God to provide – financially, physically and spiritually. I am still amazed at the reality that God keeps His promise in Eph 3:20, reminding us that HE “ is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
During most of our trip we stayed near Salem, a city in the heart of rural south India, in a missionary compound that had a hospital, orphanage, schools, church, housing for workers and guest quarters. One of our first unexpected experiences truly shows the spirit of the team and the Holy Spirit at work in us. We arrived in Salem late on Saturday night. On Sunday morning we attended the church service at the orphanage. To our surprise, the pastor came down from the stage, greeted us, and then asked which one of us would be preaching. We looked at each other for a minute and gave him our answer: WE ALL WOULD. And we did, each of us giving our personal testimony that morning. That was the start of us realizing that HE was adequate despite our feelings of inadequacy - 2 Cor. 3:5 – “not that we are adequate of ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is in Christ.”
Our main purpose was to help teach at four Women With a Mission Conferences. We expected about 200 women at each conference, but many had more attendees. It was standing room only. Apparently the news that Americans were coming all the way from the other side of the world to India’s rural villages was big news. One conference attracted 440 women, many of whom came in off of the streets thinking that the Americans were giving away things—they might get a cow if they came! Instead they heard the gospel, which is of much greater value than a cow. The total number of women we ministered to was actually 1,160!
Each woman who attends is asked to go home and share what she learned with the women of her village. If her village does not yet have a Women With a Mission fellowship, she is asked to start one. We were especially impressed with the ongoing discipleship aspect of WWM. Women are encouraged to share their faith with two other women every month and also to study lessons from materials that India Gospel League provides to help them grow in their faith. We were so blessed to play a small part in this amazing movement of God among the women of India.
I am back from two amazing weeks of ministry in India. I led a team of four women from our church, Tri-Lakes Chapel. This team was formed in response to God’s call on each of our hearts. It began with Prati Stephens, leader of Women With a Mission in India, speaking in our church this past February. Prati asked for a team of women to come and teach with her in one-day conferences for women in Tamil Nadu, South India. For some of us it was an easy decision to say “yes” to God’s call. I was excited to see what God was doing in this part of the world, and to learn about possible ministry strategies that could be used in Europe. For others it required stretching out of our comfort zone and trusting God to provide – financially, physically and spiritually. I am still amazed at the reality that God keeps His promise in Eph 3:20, reminding us that HE “ is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
We spent the summer preparing outlines for our teaching, praying with our team, sampling food at an Indian restaurant and gathering our support team. Despite our efforts, nothing could really prepare us for what we experienced! We arrived in the big city of Chennai at about midnight after 26 hours of traveling – but then who really knew what time it was as our body clocks were trying desperately to adjust to the 12 hour time change! 
The next day we were guests in a village that had been destroyed by the Tsunami. We saw firsthand the work that was being done by a number of organizations to rebuild this village and help the people become more self-sufficient.
We toured a preschool and women’s training facility that teaches women to sew so they can have another source of income to supplement the fishing done by their husbands. All of this is part of the indigenous church's strategy to improve the quality of life in the villages, as well as share the gospel.
During most of our trip we stayed near Salem, a city in the heart of rural south India, in a missionary compound that had a hospital, orphanage, schools, church, housing for workers and guest quarters. One of our first unexpected experiences truly shows the spirit of the team and the Holy Spirit at work in us. We arrived in Salem late on Saturday night. On Sunday morning we attended the church service at the orphanage. To our surprise, the pastor came down from the stage, greeted us, and then asked which one of us would be preaching. We looked at each other for a minute and gave him our answer: WE ALL WOULD. And we did, each of us giving our personal testimony that morning. That was the start of us realizing that HE was adequate despite our feelings of inadequacy - 2 Cor. 3:5 – “not that we are adequate of ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is in Christ.”
Our main purpose was to help teach at four Women With a Mission Conferences. We expected about 200 women at each conference, but many had more attendees. It was standing room only. Apparently the news that Americans were coming all the way from the other side of the world to India’s rural villages was big news. One conference attracted 440 women, many of whom came in off of the streets thinking that the Americans were giving away things—they might get a cow if they came! Instead they heard the gospel, which is of much greater value than a cow. The total number of women we ministered to was actually 1,160!
Each woman who attends is asked to go home and share what she learned with the women of her village. If her village does not yet have a Women With a Mission fellowship, she is asked to start one. We were especially impressed with the ongoing discipleship aspect of WWM. Women are encouraged to share their faith with two other women every month and also to study lessons from materials that India Gospel League provides to help them grow in their faith. We were so blessed to play a small part in this amazing movement of God among the women of India. We had many other opportunities to serve. Rick and I always quote the missionary creed "be ready to preach, pray or die at a moment's notice." We changed that for our family mission trips - inserting "sing" instead of "die" to relieve some of the tension our boys felt traveling overseas when they were young! I should also add "train" to that creed, as I was asked to lead a one-hour training event for the India Gospel League office staff - the next morning. Made me thankful for my trusty memory stick with all my training materials copied onto it! I was able to find a computer and put together a presentation that included powerpoint and handouts. We also dedicated a new life center (church) in an unreached village, prayed for people, gave words of greeting everywhere we went from our church, and gave our testimonies. None of our team are singers, but after the 250 children in the Sharon Garden Children’s home did a program for us, we got up on stage and taught them a song with hand motions. Afterwards, we gave each one a piece of candy and a Scripture bracelet. We met with a former terrorist who is now a pastor planting a church in a refugee camp (God does work in amazing ways!!). We presented a laptop from our church to Prati and then learned that she had secretly been praying for one for about 3 months. We encouraged people every day as we met our precious Indian brothers and sisters who labor tirelessly for the Lord.
We also learned to eat rice with our fingers, got accustomed to seeing monkeys, cows and other wildlife alongside the road, and steeled our queasy stomachs for the long bumpy van rides that would rival any amusement park attraction! We saw God work in the midst of a terrible cyclone storm, literally calming the storm in time for our conference to start. Most importantly, we saw the hope that Christ brings to those who live in a predominantly hopeless culture.
We also learned to eat rice with our fingers, got accustomed to seeing monkeys, cows and other wildlife alongside the road, and steeled our queasy stomachs for the long bumpy van rides that would rival any amusement park attraction! We saw God work in the midst of a terrible cyclone storm, literally calming the storm in time for our conference to start. Most importantly, we saw the hope that Christ brings to those who live in a predominantly hopeless culture.
posted by Rick and Cathy @ 12:16 PM
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