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| Hallelujah! |
We are in a little village
not far from the Bay of Bengal , seated on a
rickety stage under a colorful Indian-style canopy. It is night, and the outdoor
Gospel Meeting has
just begun. Drums are throbbing, metal
rattles keeping time, and the music rises to a fever pitch. Three music leaders begin to dance and the
stage trembles. An elderly pastor leaps
to the ground, dancing, and the children in the front row join him. The Lord is being praised tonight, just as
when King David danced before the ark of God and raised some eyebrows. “Hallelujahs” fill the air.
So do the bugs. An outdoor Gospel Meeting in India
cornea-scorching
lights; and the thousands of insects they attract. Tropical bugs of all descriptions swarm to
join our meeting. Clouds of mosquitoes,
moths, giant cockroaches and even larger black beetles are dancing above the
people. Some hit the lights and
evaporate into a small hissing cloud.
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| How can they believe if they have not heard? |
The fan, focused on Russ and
myself, blows bugs and moist bug parts onto our sweaty skin, where they
stick. One active insect gets thrust
into my right ear where it squirms and struggles violently. I jump off the side of the stage and wash it
out with my bottled water…
Russ’ preaching acts like a magnet on the crowd; Mary Grace translates; the Word of God reaches ears who have
never heard His Truth before. That is
why we are here—partly to encourage the small congregation, mostly to reach the
local Hindu population.
The first night is based on
Paul’s Mars Hill sermon, focusing on the One True God Who created
all
mankind. The second night, Russ gave his
powerful testimony and the faithfulness of God when we are suffering, based on
our life verses, Proverbs 3:5, 6. On the
third night, he spoke of the cost of following Jesus, and how it needs to be
our first priority (Luke 9:57-62).
Amazingly, all the people listened intently. Many ears in front of us have never heard
Christ and the Gospel explained before.
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| How can they hear unless someone preaches to them? |
We are in enemy territory,
but the Word of God will never return void. This was made clear Sunday night, when Russ
preached his final sermon in the little Kondevaram church. We arrived just before 9PM, shared communion
with the believers, and Russ and I spoke and worshiped until past 11. A woman who does not belong to the
church began to shriek and shout something like “Shut up! Shut up!” while clapping
her hands against her ears. She then
made other disruptive claims and speeches, but eventually calmed down after
Russ and I each prayed. I was sitting in
the back among the women and strongly felt this was an overt enemy attack,
although we have experienced many veiled ones.
Russ later told me he was certain of that, and so were Mary Grace and
her father. Stronger is He that is in
us…!
We are being blessed by
testimonies about the Gospel Meetings, by the responses at each location, and by
sharing two weeks of Pastor Samuel’s ministry, which involves his entire
family. We will head for Vishakhapatnam after a few days, to a ‘real’ hotel to
recuperate a bit before heading into the mountains of Orissa.
Please continue to pray for
us. Especially for me (Alice) at this
point--my legs are swollen,
partly due to the extreme heat (we have not had
much electric power here) and partly due to five weeks of constant insect bites
and their residual toxins. Russ is doing
well--our hostess at the home where we are staying had two shirts made for
him—and dressed me up in a sari!
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| Russ and Alice, India |
I’ve been taking photos of
the various chili business owners and their workmen, so they know me and my
walkabouts—they all had to come out on the loading dock and see me in the sari,
walking to church alongside Russ on Sunday.
Quite a stir! God uses us for “fish
bait”…may His Name be glorified in this place also!
--Alice Sharrock
--Alice Sharrock
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