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Thelma Cheetham
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sharon mcclellan blog...
monday, march 17, 2008
It is difficult to put into words how powerfully we have seen God at work in India. First I want all of the parents to know that your teenagers are all healthy and safe ( I have dispensed a few pills for altitude sickness, motion sickness, headaches and have applied a few bandaids but all have now adjusted to the altitude and noone has missed any activity due to sickness- Praise God!!) Most importantly, they have had an incredible witness here in India and as we have traveled- I think they have even surprised themselves as they marveled tonight that there has been NO COMPLAINING!!
The love that is uniting them is amazing - they have been one in heart and spirit which has been an incredible witness to those around them of the love of Christ. The boys have been such incredible gentlemen- truly acting as protecters of all the girls and serving the girls in such tangilble ways. I will have to say what a JOY it has been to get to know all of these awesome young adults in such a deeper way. It has blessed me more than words can express! They are all so tenderhearted toward the Lord,one another and the children and people of Inida.
We had the privelege of staying at the hotel (YMCA) that was hosting a big Christian worship service Saturday night- it was like a foretaste of heaven- hearing them praising God in their own language and looking out over the large Indian crowd and thinking about how it would be like our heavenly home where there will be brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation! We had a pretty unbelievable bus ride yesterday- I am sure you have read about it on other blogs so I will not elaborate here but I feel confident that we had a legion of angels surrounding us and I remembered all the Psalm 91 prayers we had prayed before we left Atlanta!
God has answered so many of our prayers in such visible ways- there is a real spirit of unity, gratitude and joy among the entire team. We spent the evening on Sunday with Amy's parents and Minoj and his family (he is the one who God has called to "be the servant" as he says for the schools we are working at in the villages) We had a warm welcome from the Seefeldt's who had prepared special packets of India information , "welcome lays", and an unbelieveable Indian cuisine dinner. We praised God together - learning Hindi worship songs, prayed together, talked about God's word- the passage from Matthew about Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, shared a meal and listened to God's amazing work in the life of Minoj which he was excited to share with the kids because he was called into the work of ministry at the same age that they are now.
We were able to let the Seefleldt's know what a "gift" Amy has been to our students- I thanked them on behalf of the parents at Whitefield and we gave them a framed picture with all of the team and Amy with the verse "I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in the truth"- that as a result of their daughter walking in the truth she has had a huge impact/influence on our kids - in modeling and helping them to learn what it means to walk in the truth. I tried to express our gratitude for how she has poured the love of Christ into our kids. It was a very special night and our "kick off" in Mussoorie.
Today (Monday) we hiked a total of 4 hours on hills you would not believe through the village and on mountain trails to get to the school. The beauty of the children and their obedient and joyful spirits made it such a sweet day as we divided up - some playing soccer, some singing (they loved the hokey pokey, Father Abraham and Jesus Loves Me!!) some painted murals both inside the school and outside where they paited the "vision" God gave Minoj for the school - It is a picture of Jesus reaching into a thornbush and pulling out a little lamb who was distressed and trapped.
Inside as they painted the cross they had th e chance to share what the cross symbolized. Two families have come to know Christ in this Hindu village the others have hearts that are being drawn it would seem - in one of the two schools they have a teacher who is also a pastor and holds weekly Sunday worship services and all the children in the school come to worship.
As we left the school Minoj took us to visit a Hindu family whose father is dying of leukemia (Minoj has developed relationships with all the families in the village and he regularly ministers to them and prays for them) all of us crowded into the small hut and one person at a time prayed to the One True God on behalf of this man and his family. They hugged us and thanked us - we were able to contribute to medical expenses also - Manoj's ministry is truly one of meeting both practical and spiritual needs of this Hindu region and the people love him and experience the love of Christ through him.
We then stopped at another home where we met a girl who had been healed of seizures by God through the prayers of Manoj - the whole village has heard the testimony of this miraculous healing to the glory of God. In our devotional time tonight Mr Hellier led us through the days devotions and you can tell that everyone is trying to really process how God would have them respond to what we are experiencing here. We will never be the same and know thet God has given us a love for the people in India and trust that He will show us how we can continue to be a part of their ministry through prayer and practiacl help with there needs.
One of the things that struck me personaly is how malnourished the children are due to the poverty- I am hopeful there may be a way to really help with feeding these children and perhaps getting Juice Plus for them! We ended with the exhortation to pray and seek God continuously- for He will surely show us each individually how we can love these brothers and sisters in Christ from afar and those they serve who remain in darkness who desperately need the light and love of Jesus. Will you please join us in praying for the remaining days we have here and as we return - that we will be fully surrendered to God and follow the leading of His Spirit in every situation. Thank you for taking the time to read this and joining us from a distance in celebrating what a BIG God we serve and rejoicing in the blessing that He has given us in being a small part of what He is doing in the India.