India Post #2

Sorry I wasn‘t able to post this last night like I promised (The Thunder game was just so intense!) But, I finally put it together. This post is definitely not as emotionally stirring as the last but it is a great example of faith that I feel as Christians we should take note of.

When my team and I commuted to a different province with many villages, we were able to speak with commercial sex workers, pimps, and lower/middle-class people about Jesus. (There are many stories I will tell about these visits later on!) The village life was very different from the city life in India. And I feel like going to more rural areas of India helped me capture the essence of Indian culture. But apparently as we were visiting this province in India there was a lot of political uprising happening. And this wasn’t any typical political conflict. What had happened was the political leader in that province was a devout Christian but was assassinated in a plain crash. This naturally led his son to be the next leader rising to power. But just like his father, he as well was a strong Christian. He also did very good things for the community and so many people loved him. But due to his faith he has been persecuted with false accusations and taken to jail. Because of this, it has started riots in that very region we were ministering in. So my group and I had to stay indoors to be safe, especially since we would attract attention because of our nationality. So as we were staying indoors we tuned in on the news and the Indians housing us translated what was being said.  And at one point the mother of this Christian political leader said, “My God knows my sons heart and my God is much stronger than what is happening.” Wow! What a testament of the power of God. It just shows that the Lord is working in powerful ways in India and I was blessed enough to witness it. The man that has been persecuted was also caught on the news getting out of a car with security saying “God Bless” to all of his loving citizens. He is on public television being falsely accused because of his religion but still has not given up his faith in God and his kindness towards others. I feel like there was no way I could not come back to America and share this great example with fellow Christians.

My team and I, soon after staying indoors, took the long way back around the province to the city to insure our safety. Prolonging the trip from 2 hours to 5 hours!

All of the riots I was caught in during my time at the villages really put in perspective the fear that is in that culture. I have had a lot of people ask me if I was ever felt scared of being in danger over there and I say, “Of course I was!” But it taught me to put my trust in God and in the nationals he provided for me. Something terrible could have gone wrong but what an example of the power of God that nothing didn’t. And even if something were to have gone wrong, like the persecuted political leader, I would still put my faith in Jesus.

“Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.” 1 Thessalonians 3:7

Thanks for Reading!

Karlie