Holi, Holi....HOLY!!!

We were again blessed to have a team from our home church visit us here. This is the 3rd visit since we have been here, and some have been several times before. Normally, however, we try to discourage teams from coming during major festivals, simply because it is difficult to travel, and find people who are open to hearing the Gospel in the middle of all the visiting and cooking food, etc. Our church had two college students who wanted to come, but they could only come during their spring break, which just happened to fall on the festival of Holi.

Holi, in South Asia is the festival of colors, to celebrate the coming of the warm weather. Everyone travels back to their home place celebrate with their relatives, so much is closed down during this time. The first day, people celebrate on the eve of Holi by burning giant fires around the city. Many people get drunk and sometimes it is a dangerous time to be out and about. The next day, people celebrate in the morning by putting colored dye into water and have giant water fights with each other.

All the members of the team played, and got colored nicely by the neighborhood kids- which made us all feel like kids again!

Run Away!!

They waited for us to come out, then shot. We were sitting ducks!

Defend ourselves we tried, but there were just too many of them, and they were determined!

After the color ran out, we headed for safe ground inside the house of our host.

We watched as the boys downstairs threw each other into the mud puddles, threw mud on each other as well as passers-by, then progressed to throwing dirt and ash on each other.

That evening, after washing as much of the color off as we could, we went to visit some neighbors, and low and behold, we were greated with more colors- dry this time though. We had some appointments to see some specific people and perhaps share the Gospel, but we got re-directed to a large gathering of men from the community who were meeting and they asked us to come over and visit. As we sat, the men came with hands full of colored powder which they proceeded to smear on our faces and hair.

This was a fun time, and though we weren't able to share the Gospel exactly like we expected to, we were able to pray for a household that day, and the team came away from this trip with a different perspective on life in South Asia.

We were, however, able to spend time in a house near-by that was really friendly- a perfect house of peace situation, which is what we teach our 14 (Luke 10:1-11). We sat, ate and drank what was put in front of us, which was ALOT! They were very friendly and open. The daughter of the house did mehindi on all the ladies hands.

After all the relational time we spent, we were totally comfortable sharing the Gospel. They were completely receptive, and when we asked if they wanted to accept the salvation of Jesus, they said yes. Praise the Lord! Husband, wife and son all prayed for forgiveness and accepted that Jesus died to take the punishment for their sins, and they committed to follow Jesus only. A house of peace that God can use to grow His kingdom on earth in that village. Pray for this family, as the local church planters continue to follow up with them in discipleship in order to harvest the local area and form into a healthy church. If the team just came out to share with that one family and give them the chance to accept salvation, the trip was a success.

In South Asia, we need to be careful not to knowingly participate in the worship of any other gods. A scripture that came to my mind was when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings." The "throwing of colors" is not a type of worship for the locals so the team that came had a great opportunity to be part of the local celebration, and be one of the locals and do what they do for the sake of Christ.

It wasn't a typical trip, but we may never know how many lives were affected for the sake of the Gospel- but God knows. He was glorified, and during Holi, the team was able to put a little Holy into it!

Notes From the Field

So thank you to those who gave suggestions about the blog. I will be tweaking some things here and there, so stay tuned... Oh yeah, and no more double posts- sorry, not so used to moble-blogging yet!
In February, we had a team from one of our prayer partner churches come and visit, a second visit actually, this time with almost all who had not been out of the country even. They stepped out of their comfort zone and came half-way around the world to know how better to partner with what God is doing in this place. We visited a few of the nationals we are working with, and were able to pray for and encourage them together. We also went to some village areas to share the gospel. In this place, when there are white faces, especially from America, quite the crowd gathers around as we walk. It can be likened to Jesus having a large crowd follow Him when He was on earth. We then are able to easily share some cultural things with them, and in turn share Christ openly. We have found that relational time always opens the door to sharing spiritual things. The team was also able to share stories of Jesus with school children, and lead them in singing worship songs. One lady, who leads worship time for young children in their church, had the kids doing "air guitar" during one of the songs, and even the translator was doing it. It was really a lot of fun, and this team brought more joy to these kids over an hour than they probably have ever felt in their lives. The smiles on their faces could probably be seen from space! The team was moved emotionally and spiritually, and went back home with a changed world view. One of the couples had felt called by God to just come on this trip. They couldn't explain it, but they have been feeling that things in their life have not been right, and that God was calling them to greater things. My wife and I were thrilled to be able to encourage them during the trip, and answer many questions about our call and life on the mission field. They are in the process of surrendering to God's will and have started an application with the IMB. I would tell them to maybe slow down a little bit, but the look in both of their eyes confirmed to me that they are willing to do what God is calling them to do. The process had been ongoing for some time, and the trip here confirmed it for them.

This week, I was out in the east part of our state, a trip that takes a 10 hour overnight train, to visit some of our 14 Church Planters. These guys are doing such great work, and I am so proud to be part of what God is doing in this place. One of the guys, Nathan*, is a former Buddhist who now follows Christ in spite of being cut off completely from his family because of his faith. His mother and father have wanted no contact with their oldest son. Nathan has gone to visit them, but he has heard his own mother say "I have no son." That is heart breaking to hear. Recently, however, his mother had an accident in which she broke her leg. He went home to help and support during that time, to which his mother welcomed him, finally after about 4 years. We had been praying that God would soften his family's heart to at least let him back into contact with them. Also, recently, an uncle of his family died, and his father asked Nathan to come and participate in the worship during the 39 days of mourning. During this time, Buddhists shave their body hair, and do many other things to offer sacrifice and offerings on behalf of the deceased relative. Nathan responded to his father "I cannot do this. Jesus is my Lord, and I cannot participate in this worship." Yesterday, I read Psalm 15, and the last part of verse 4 speaks of Nathan's faith- "(He who) keeps his oath even when it hurts," This is one of God's answer to David's question of who may dwell in the Lord's sanctuary and live on God's holy hill. Many followers of Christ right here are making decisions every day that go against their parents, friends, colleagues, neighbors and even society. Can we as Americans even compare with this type of faith? We shy away from sharing our faith because we might be laughed at or mocked or cast out of the "in" crowd. I'm definitely not pointing fingers- that plank is in my eye as well. I'm so encouraged by the strength and faith of the people here- those that have counted the cost of being a disciple- and it's a huge cost, Much bigger than I could ever have imagined and they still choose to follow. It is inspiring, and it keeps me going in the committment to further God's work in this place. God is getting glory here, but that glory will be shown much bigger one day. This is only the beginning.

Suggestions

My blog needs a little help. I see by the amount of comments I've been receiving that maybe my readers may have dropped off, through no fault of my own. I started this blog 2 years ago with a bang, sometimes writing several times a week. Lately, I have only been good enough to write at least once a month (bad SAM!). I now notice that this post iis my 100th, and to celebrate this little milestone, I wanted to ask my few readers for some blog suggestions. Give me some feedback! Should I change the look? Post more?(obviously!) Any help would be welcome! For a little change, instead of waiting to get home to post, I am actually out in a village now posting from my mobile. Technology sure has come a long way! Look forward to hearing from you!

Suggestions

My blog needs a little help. I see by the amount of comments I've been receiving that maybe my readers may have dropped off, through no fault of my own. I started this blog 2 years ago with a bang, sometimes writing several times a week. Lately, I have only been good enough to write at least once a month (bad SAM!). I now notice that this post iis my 100th, and to celebrate this little milestone, I wanted to ask my few readers for some blog suggestions. Give me some feedback! Should I change the look? Post more?(obviously!) Any help would be welcome! For a little change, instead of waiting to get home to post, I am actually out in a village now posting from my mobile. Technology sure has come a long way! Look forward to hearing from you!