Tour of Life

 The beggar, who is crippled of legs.

Prior to leaving for the Philippines last June, God’s Holy Spirit put on my heart, a certain lame beggar,

I have known of since 1987, bringing to my mind several times for no apparent reason, a strong desire to see him and share the Lord. This was a very intense feeling because I sensed the urgency of it to share with him face-to-face.

I knew literally nothing about this man. I did not know his name I did not know his language, literally I knew nothing about him but that he was gentle and easy to approach. In the first week of our being there Jim and I found him. I had brought a tract to give him, and to my joy he started reading it! The tract had the two hearts and he looked up and said aloud, “I have a good heart." I was shocked as I didn’t know he could speak. I took my sunglasses off and bent down low enough for him to look into my eyes and to see if he recognized me. Yes indeed he did and made sounds of delight! However the most important purpose still lay ahead. We had to arrange a meeting with our staff pastor and the beggar, so that the pastor could explain the offer of forgiveness and the gift of salvation!. I wanted to have the assurance that Leonardo would be in heaven at the end of his days.

Everything in Scripture points to the love of God for the individual. God is interested in the individual. He is not impressed with our education, the way we look for the pedigree that we come from, but God is interested in our heart and how we respond to him.

Indeed it says in the Bible when one sinner repents the angels in heaven rejoice. That is the act of one. Jim and I looked for this man every day, first in the morning hours and then later in the afternoon hours up and down the street and could find him nowhere. The following day we did the same, pursuing where we thought he might go to have the most foot traffic.We were very diligent to go out into the town and scour the different blocks looking for him with great intent all to know if we would find him before we had to leave.

I could not know what the days ahead would bring for my friend, Leonardo but August 10th, I heard from our Office Manager in the Philippines that our pastor had found Leonardo! He shared the gospel with him, he listened and then prayed to receive Christ!

It really is the love of God that reaches out to find a lost soul, comforts them with his grace and makes provision for them to Himself. Is this not why we love the Lord? He is all about the individual. Even when that individual is not presentable, has not eaten food in several days and is not eloquent of speech, God is waiting for such, that the man would simply call out to God for help and God hears him! “ This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I John 4:10

“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

    nor his delight in the legs of the man;

the Lord delights in those who fear him,

    Psalms 147

Me giving Leonardo the tract in June

Leonardo Praying with our PTA Pastor last week! Praise God!

Spring Arrives!

Spring arrives! The forest in the woodlands will soon erupt with the sounds of newborn fawns and small mammals. In our backyard the birds have premed their nest as baby birds hatch, soon to fill the air with chirps and bird songs.

New life is the sign accompanying Spring here in India. In the north east where we gather with friends enjoying Indian tea, we were stirred into enthusiastic conversation about the new life in the Bible studies and the churches. The kind of life that happens by being born again. That sweet fellowship flourishes among the believers and joy fills the room. The transformation of such believers delivered from darkness know now that they live in His glorious light and life.

A Hindu priest positioned in the temple to execute a macabre act of child sacrifice…his own daughter who was seven years old. Her father was a Hindu priest and he told her there was a special service that night at the temple so he went and bought her a new dress for the occasion. Little did she know that her father‘s plan was to sacrifice her that night to the Hindu gods. When they arrived at the temple the little girl said, "Father, where are all the people?" and he said, "We are early." He took her in and there were only other Hindu priests and they went to the altar and he told her to put her head down and began to get ready to cut her head off with a big sword. She saw the sword and started to cry and pray, "Dear Jesus, save me!" When she prayed all the articles of worship and the incense holders fell on the floor. They put them back in place and as they proceeded a second time, it happened again as she prayed a second time, "Jesus save me!" The priests stopped the sacrifice ritual. The other priest told the father, this is a bad omen, and they could not sacrifice her. Her father was very angry and ended up cutting his own flesh to give blood to the gods. He continued in his anger and took her home and locked her in her bedroom for two days with no water or food. She had heard from a friend at school that Jesus is the loving powerful Lord who answers prayer. Today she is a beautiful believer and is loved and has a prayer ministry praying for the sick to be healed.

The woman next to me is that "little girl", she expressed to our team that she could not let me go but wanted me to stay with her.

In our friend's home, just as dinner was being prepared for us, I saw a quiet man standing aloof, so I went over to say hello. He was polite but reticent to speak. Then very slowly he began to tell me his testimony. His joy was now all over his face and he was saying “Yes, yes! I too know! Very, very happy I have joy now. It's Jesus I have now.”

This man was a high cast Brahman and in that status receives praise and privileges in this Indian culture. But he chose to give it all away and put it aside for Christ as his Lord and Savior. He has walked away and is denying himself of all that could be his to follow Jesus. As the Bible says, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will lift you up.” James 4:19

This believer who came out of darkness and evil because he saw the love of God extended to him through believers in Christ. Please pray for India, there are over 1 billion people who do not know the love of God in Jesus Christ.