Thanksgiving... Thanks India!

To sum up my Thanksgiving experience this year I have comprised a Mastercard commercial which I completely authorize Mastercard to use for their marketing purposes should they discover this post:

Thanksgiving Dinner with the fam in a super posh, foreign Indian restaurant ironically named Chillies.... $45.67 (for a party of 8)
Spontaneous Camel ride through a random park dividing the main thoroughfare...... $0.50
Finding a shoe maker that makes custom leather sandals for less than $4 a pair.... well... about $12 when you buy three pairs(but really it's a priceless find and I've made a new friend)
Riding India's version of the Autopia Cars.... $1.00
Making memories on a Thanksgiving weekend that will never be matched or forgotten.... PRICELESS

My calling grows... we knew it would!

Today I was priveledged to preach in a small village church about 30 minutes from where I'm living in Tenali. Over the last several weeks Suresh and Christina have felt like God has been calling them to encourage me to sharpen my skills for sharing the Word and so... as Suresh always does... he responded... by arranging speaking engagments Sunday mornings throughout the remainder of my time in India, at various churches in the Harvest India network. It's been a true blessing! God has provided every step of the way. And while I always try to do some planning prior to the message, it's been incredible to allow the Holy Spirit to lead, creating space for God to move and sharing relevant messages with these amazing and hungry believers. Be blessed my family and loved ones! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Indian Cooking 101

Last night I got a lesson in how to make curry! It was awesome! I made authentic India pickle! By mixing green chilies, tomatoes, a few pinches of sea salt and garlic. Using teak wood and a grinding pot you mash them together into a puree similar to a very spicy salsa. I worked up a sweat and got laughed at several times, but all in good fun. White people can cook in India, but its not recommended! :) It should come as no surprise that I couldn't eat the curry I had created because it was too spicy, but I did try just a tiny bit to taste my creation. Pretty good if I do say so myself! It's good to know that if I ever get called out of full time ministry here in India... I have a fall back plan as a professional curry maker. :)

Stay Connected

To read the latest happenings at Harvest India go to http://www.harvestindia.org/blog/

So this is love...

It's been a few days and I'm praising God for the amazing ways He is already blessing me for walking in obedience. After my flight fiasco, I finally arrived in Hyderabad just 12 hours after I had originally anticipated. I could have literally kissed the ground I was so excited to reach my destination. As I exited the airport with my full cart of six bags in tow I saw Suresh's long time friend Sridel, who was there to greet me and it was a great to see a familiar face. We loaded my bags into the car and as I opened the back door of the car, in my seat, was a brand new pillow! Suresh had heard the struggle I was having with the airlines, and assuming I would be exhausted; he sent a pillow so that I could get some rest on the six our drive from Hyderabad to Tenali. I'm not sure if it was the over exhaustion or the welcomed and loving gesture but I cried. The way that this culture, and the Kumar family specifically, loves people is enough to make anyone with a heart cry. As I crawled into the back seat unwrapped my new pillow and laid down my head I remember thinking, "I'm home!" Whether the trials and delay in my flight was testing, accidental, spiritual warfare, or protection, one thing is clear, God loves me and he has my very best interest in mind.

I slept the entire drive, reached Tenali at 2AM, settled into my room and slept the whole night through. In the morning I awoke rested and experiencing no jet-lag. God is so good! I met the team visiting us from Silver City, NM and spent the day with some of my favorite elderly. I knew that there was chance I would see some new faces at the center but feared I would not see others. I was immediately crushed when the dear face of my beloved Kammabam did not emerge from the smiling faces. As unappointed leaded of the elderly center in Ventkapatnem there is noticeable difference when visiting the center without her presence. She is truly filled with the joy of the Lord! Even in old age she would dance and sing and sometimes even jump with joy as she sang joyful praises to the Lord. Suresh shared that she is still with us, very ill and in need of much attention she has been sent to the home of one of her sons. Though it's difficult to think that she's in pain, it's encouraging to know that God is still moving and restoring relationships in her late life. Kammabam has five children and all deserted her in old age. Their hardened harts disowned their mother in her time of need. Left with nothing and forced into the streets to beg Kammabam found the Harvest India elderly center. She has been under Harvest India care for nearly four years now. As she approaches the end of this life and enters into eternity with the Savior she's known for only four years, but who's know her since the beginning of time, Kammabam leaves her legacy. No fortune, no fame, but countless joyous memories that's she has given to each visitor that has come to Harvest India. Countless hours or prayer that would surpass the average "life-long" Christian, wisdom beyond measure, and peace that surpasses understanding. Succeeded by her three sons and two daughters who have yet to personally come to know Jesus, she now in the home of her son during her final days. Shining light in the darkness, Kammabam is being reconciled to the children who one abandoned her to the street and encouraging them to seek the Lord and surrender their lives to His leading. Only time will tell the fate of her children but her identity is clear, eternity secured. Thank you Kammabam for loving God with all your heart and for loving us as an example of that love!

Read more about Kammabam's story in a coming Newsletter by signing up online at: http://www.harvestindia.org/newsletters/

Modern Day Shipwreck

So this is not the way I anticipated re-entering the blogosphere but I'm in London, exhausted, stuck, and in need of prayers. Its been a long day since I left Virginia. I had a mishap with leaving my carry on somewhere on the platform in transit to the terminal which I didn't realize for about 15 minutes. Frantically, I ran through Dulles Airport in search of anyone that cared enough to help me in my state of panic. I found no one, but eventually found my way back to TSA and a gentleman there was aware of a bag that had been turned in. A few anxious moments and my bag appeared just as I had accidentally left it. Profusely apologizing for doing the one worst thing I could have done in an airport, the man made light of the situation saying they were just about to torch it outside! It made me smile and calmed my nerves a bit and I was headed back, this time baggage in tow, to the terminal. I made a few last goodbye phone calls and prepared to board the plane. I had an open seat next to me, which was a blessing, and a very warm older man and his wife who were preparing to visit Prague and Venice. We chatted a bit and I got share Harvest India and my experience with being called to life on mission in India. He was very interested and asked some great questions. Two small children in the row in front of me cried and screamed the intire flight and while it didn't bother me to bad with headphones and earplugs it did keep me awake the entire flight and so I got no rest on the red eye flight to London.

I arrived at Heathrow at 10:20am and I had a four hour layover. I read a bit, grabbed a bite to eat and walked around the airport. With minutes until BA released the gate of my flight to Hyderabad I sat down and waited for further direction from the screens above. That was at 1:25p. The next thing I knew I was looking at the inside of my exhausted eyelids and when they re-opened the clock said 2:20pm, just five minutes after my flights final boarding call. I rushed to the counter to see if there was anyway they could hold the plane but even I couldn't charm myself out of this one. In utter frustration, confusion and on the brink of tears I walked away from the counter and collapsed to my knees. "God come on! Don't you want me in India" The words hurt to even speak. Of course God wanted me in India. He's already made that perfectly clear. I spent the last few weeks of my time in California wrapping my mind around my explanation of hard times in view of God's will. I've had this overwhelmingly, rather peaceful, feeling that this time India wasn't going to be easy. Not because God doesn't love blessing His children but because the world has fallen and what I've set out to do goes against the pattern of our world. And so, here I am! In the middle of this beautiful airport, uncertain of why my trip will end up taking nearly twice as long to travel at a significantly higher cost for missing a major leg of my flight and I'm hearing God's still small voice reminding me:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor 12:10

Reminding me that He is and always will be in control. All I need do is rest in Him and He will guide me along his perfect path. Flight or no flight, though ease or hardships He's worthy and somehow I'm right where I'm supposed to be!

Learning,
John

Sheep and Goats... it's no joke!

I'm humbled to be loved by God... I'm privileged to be a part of serving the Kingdom in these end days... and I'm greived to be a part of a population of people who blatantly DO NOT get the gospel. I've been home from India for about two and a half months and the transition has been a roller coaster of joy and disappointment. The best way to describe my transition into full time ministry? Like meeting your childhood favorite celebrity and finding out they hate everything you love. In reality they can't possibly hate everything but the devastation of be awakened to important details of their identity bring huge dark clouds... and your excitement and joy turns to grief and heartbreak. This is my experience with the Western Church! What are we doing? This professed "Christian Nation" wrenches my heart. I'm constantly bombarded by churches who have adopted this grandeur "Lights, Camera, Action" approach to entice non-believers and those who have strayed into a relationship with Christ... once they are drawn into these million dollar buildings with the hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in technical equipment and guess what we preach from the stage... "God doesn't beg you to join his ministry, He won't plead with you to stay. If you think there's something better out there in the world then go chase that... God will still be here when you realize that everything else WILL fail you." TRUE! But what hypocrites we are... seems like we are begging people into church buildings to me... we now need millions of dollars a year just to run the show that has become the church and huge "teams" of rather well paid staff who maybe don't make millions but why do they exist? Why do Americans default to God being this huge tech whiz that loves to use media in the arts to make his point in America? When did that happen? NOT IN ACTS!

Why aren't we seeing growth in the US like were experiencing in India or China or Africa?
Simple we aren't people of faith! We are listeners of the word (and really good listeners at that) but we've lost our passion... we've lost our burden for the people who are missing from the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. We are missing opportunities because we've become hindered by consumerism and the need for more in our own lives that we miss the fact that people are dying in the world with nothing. We forget that not only is the person next door "our neighbor" but so is the Hindu half way around the world who's dying of starvation, begging on the streets and making less than 1 dollar per day. We've missed it! If we can't speak to our neighbors here in the US and we cant live missionally in our day to day lives then mission trips become the few times per year the we actually meet our maker in his created intent. Serving the world in need. Seeking and saving the lost. Extending ourselves SACRIFICIALLY as the hands and feet of Jesus! No wonder God called me to stay in India! How many others is he calling to do the same? Not because India is a more Godly place than the USA but rather when we escape the depravity of the world we've grown complacent in we can experience the majesty and fullness of Christ in the way God intended... through service. If we can't come home and continue to live the way we live on mission then God would simply say, STAY AWAY. Stay away from the places that hinder you from doing things outside the will of God and if that means the entire Christian population conducting a mass exodus to a less distracting land well then history would say this isn't the first time God has led his people in mass exodus form. There may be some time in the desert ahead of us but at the end of it all is the land of milk and honey where children play near snake holes and lions lay with lambs and that my friends... that is a promise God has made to those who hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful!