New Delhi 2012

I come back from India with no pretty snapshots of famous spots to 'tayang', no touristy souvenirs to hand out . Only pictures of real life captured of a world so far removed from my/our own and memories of a world that's so lacking, a people who have so little... where home is anywhere and everywhere, where dirt and filth are accepted as normal, where children run around naked in villages, begging on roads, playing on railway tracks. This is a world where we, with our sophisticated Ipads, Ifones and I-whatever can't imagine living in, becoz honestly we would not survive long in it, since we are so used to our clean (and hot) water showers, our nice warm beds with quilted blankets, and such stuff that we deem basic necessities, which are totally inaccessible luxuries in their world. Every missions trip breaks my heart. And that's why I go. No, I am not a masochist for pain. But pain is a good thing sometimes, becoz it awakens me to the reality of life for billions of people (and that's only in India alone) that can be so different. It opens my eyes to look beyond the niceties of my little comfy corner of the world and appreciate how Jesus' heart was filled with compassion when He looked at the crowds of hungry, sick and needy around Him. Looking at photos of suffering people surrounded by ugly piles of rubbish may make us slightly uncomfortable for awhile, but humans have a way of 'tuning out' things that we don't really want to know or care about. Of coz we are sad, we make sympathetic noises, maybe we throw in a few hundred dollars more into charity this year. But life, our lives, their lives go on... after all, we reason we can't save the world, in fact God tells us plainly, the poor we will always have with us. The tragedy is we can forget very easily that there are poor, sick, lost and dying people in our midst, whilst we go about eating, drinking and making merry like there's no tomorrow . The tragedy is we give up on them, when God doesn't.


And that's why I go into their world, to be reminded that whilst I can't change their lives by just a brief human encounter, God can do it in a divine encounter thru my mouth, thru my prayers. Of coz He can do it without me, but the fact that He wants to do it thru me humbles my heart as i consider what a high privilege it is to be used by and of Him. And so it was with anticipation that I signed up for the first India missions trip for 2012. I looked forward to revisiting New Delhi after 2 years, and I knew God would answer our prayers to move mightily as we ventured out in faith to do His work. I remembered the Bihar trip last year where there was such a powerful display of His manifestation , and my heart hungered for more. Honestly i was hoping for a spectacular repeat of visible signs, wonders and miracles, and honestly by the end of the New Delhi leg, I was just a wee bit disappointed there was no 'big fireworks' from God. But God is ever so gracious to bless me of little faith.... there was a particular nite rally where the local town headsman - a non-believer- was present, and surprisingly he stood up to speak to the crowd that they should listen to us, as he felt a very strong power of God present. Indeed he seemed so overwhelmed he was the first to put his hand up when I issued a call to come forward. Yet, I myself didn't 'feel' anything, the earth didn't shake under my feet, no fire or lightning that fell from the sky. Just goes to remind me once again God is not a feeling, and that I really should learn by now He truly is our Emmaneul, God with us! Indeed He did answer all my prayers, altho not in the way I wanted or expected. This time round, He chose to do things a new way, at least with me...There was no 'showtime' for me, for He quietly kept the best for last, after we had finished off our 5 day stint in New Delhi . In any event, He did let go the 'fireworks' in Mumbai where we had reports from the other team of mighty deliverance works in their meetings!   
Indeed, it had been a most fulfilling and personally satisfying trip for me, even tho for the best part of a week, i went around New Delhi with stuffed/sniffling nose as I hadn't expected it to be so cold in the north, since it was easing into summer. The local pastor's wife graciously gave me a thick shawl to cover up as we went about mornings and nites to share God's Word and to pray in churches and in open air rallies which drew crowds of people who had never heard the name of Jesus. We were taken to 2 slum communities where they had begun an Adult's Literacy Programme, teaching for free small groups of women who turned up to learn. Everywhere we went, I spied "mini slums" - shanty communities erected here and there along road sides, even upon road dividers. It is impossible to describe the living conditions of these most afflicted and poorest of the poor. These are the things that should break our hearts, as it does God's heart who created everything good and beautiful, which is supposed to be every man's inheritance on earth. Woe indeed was the day when man fell into sin, and suffered the consequences to this day. Yet despite man's transgressions, God has not abandoned us; He has sent Jesus to save... I am so blessed to be able to know this Truth, and to preach it to those who don't know. There must be something right about our simple message - that God sent His Son from heaven , to bear and be punished for our sins, so that we could be free to enjoy a life of abundance of love, joy, peace and comfort (blessings which no money or self-effort can ever buy/attain) on earth and thereafter to go on enjoying eternal life in heaven with Him - becoz every time we proclaim the truth of Jesus, people would respond. And that's always my greatest reward, to see people come forward in faith believing in the real, one and only true living God, knowing that's the first step that can and will break the cycle that's bound and deceived them in darkness of spirit and soul. And in gratitude, I can only thank God He set me free 10 years ago, so that I could pass on the blessing in these days.

We were supposed to go to Agra to the famous Taj Mahal, but Pastor changed the schedule to a prayer drive around the govt. complex buildings instead. Which was fine by me, since i have never fancied visiting dead people's tombs, no matter how beautiful. The only tomb i wanna visit is Jesus' tomb, and that's just to see for myself that it's empty - proof that my God is alive! As it turned out, the change was God-timed, for I felt led to do another one of those crazy things that can only come from Him....to pray repentance over the assassination of Indira Gandhi, as we drove past her house. I knew enuf by now spiritual things have to be combated the spiritual way. I had prayed for greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and He was indeed speaking very clearly of the need to repent symbolically for the sin of revolt and rebellion against God, as much as in the physical realm, murder had been committed upon the highest reigning authority of the nation. That was the first inkling I had that God was setting me up for a new experience on this trip...

If North India moved my heart to compassion, South India moved my heart to shame. The last leg of our trip after we left New Delhi was spent traveling about the interior villages outside of Chennai. Whilst I shivered in New Delhi, Chennai was a 'hot sauna bath' every day. Coupled with power cuts every now and then, we were literally 'steaming' sweat. And it was in the middle of one such day that we were taken to pray over a bare piece of land that was supposed to be the site of a new church to be built. It was mid-day, the sun was at its brightest and hottest, we were all being 'b-b-q'ed. That was when I saw a group of women walking in from town (it must have been 1 km thereabouts), some even barefoot. I was put to utmost shame that I should even be thinking (and complaining inwardly) about the heat. These folks willingly came out walking on their own 2 feet (we came by aircon car), and so together we stood, under the scorching mid-day 12 o'clock sun, conducting a prayer meeting!My heart wondered, how many of us would readily suffer such inconvenience to come and pray? We have nice air con churches with fancy bands to play nice sounding music and we can't even summon enuf will to come and pray once a week-nite! And here are simple village folks with simple obedient faith... that doesn't count the cost or the sacrifice of personal comfort.

And over the next few days, as we trudged our way out into open fields to pray in the hot sun over various pieces of land slotted for building churches, I finally got 'it'. God was answering my long-standing request for revelation, for prophetic insight to catch His vision of things, for the ability to pray as the Spirit leads. We were traipsing on mostly empty pieces of dry land, some had only the shell of an empty building erected for a start. At almost every particular spot, I was praying very specific blessings for the church that would be built in His name. This was truly Spirit-led prayer, nothing of my own; speaking prophetically what was not yet, but calling it forth as it would be in accordance to His will. And once i 'tuned in' I kept asking and He kept answering, even throwing in a 'bonus' on the very last day. After the service, I had occasion to speak with an Anglo-Saxon old couple from the church. Husband is 79 years old, plays the guitar in worship and has such a great testimony of conversion, having been an atheist for 18 years, searching for God in every religion from Hinduism-Buddhism-Islam, and finally was confronted by Jesus Christ like Paul, thru a light that shone in front of him for 2 solid days, till he acknowledged Jesus as Lord. But it was the wife who blessed me so much. Known to operate in the gift of healing, she laid her hands and prayed over me; I knew straight away this was the passing on of the particular anointing. I have prayed so often for God to give me more. And here He chooses a little unknown white-haired old lady in a place where I have never been before to be the answer to my prayer. I was crying by the time she finished with me.... my heart overflowing with gratefulness for my Abba Father who blesses in such wonderful ways.
And as i settle down into the orderly routine of my world once again, I expect more fantastic things to come....

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"... Luke 11:9-13

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