Week 2

Well it´s been a jam pack week to say the least.  Let me recap…

Sunday (May 5)

We traveled to the outskirts of Coimbatore to stay a few days with a pastor and his family.  We started our time there visiting his church.  Ben led a few worship songs and the church loved to dance so the pastor called our four girls up to the front to dance for everyone.  It was really funny! Next, Oddvar gave his testimony, we did our Savior drama for the first time, and Courtney shared a short message about believing God´s truth instead of lies. That night we had dinner and ministry time. We sang a few songs, Marlena shared her testimony, we prayed for the family, and we played games with everyone.  We were hoping that some Hindu women were going to come but they were prevented because their husbands wouldn´t allow them.

Monday (May 6)

The group ventured off to some markets for the girls to get sari´s and the boys to get lungies (basically a sheet that you can wrap up into a skirt).  The boys loved that they could wear skirts all the time! Haha! That night we had ministry time with the pastor and family. Ben led us in worship, Mariah shared her testimony, and Lukas gave a message on healing. After that we shared a meal crammed in a small bedroom.  We are blown away by how hospitable everyone is to us and how the Indian culture is so relationship-oriented.

The power cuts out 17 hours a day in Coimbatore so we had a fun time around 2 am when we got really hot and attacked by mosquitos.  No one could really sleep so we all crowded around to have Ben read “The Chronicles of Narnia” to us in his proper English accent. 

Tuesday (May 7)

We visited a leper colony and did kid´s ministry.  We sang songs, did our Savior drama, played games, and had a lot of fun with the kids.  Random fun (kind of gross) fact: We placed bets on who would be the first to get diarrhea and Ben won..ding, ding, ding..followed shortly by Pia, Mikkel, Oddvar and Mariah throwing up.  The look of desperation on Pia´s face was priceless as she tried to race to the bathroom but the door to the house was locked. No worries though, we´re all back to normal again!

The pastor and his family have been wanting to build a church, an orphanage and a home for children with polio and God miraculously provided a large plot of land for FREE but because of finances they have been prevented from building. So the team prayed over the land and asked God to provide and finish what He started.  This family is amazing and their faith is so encouraging!

Wednesday and Thursday (May 8 and 9)

We helped out at a kid´s Vacation Bible School and played lots of action songs, did some skits, arts and crafts, and led group times sharing about the fruits of the Spirit. We were wiped out by the end of the time but it was amazing to invest in these little kids.  We were told that 80% of the kids were from Hindu families so it was amazing to share God´s truth and trust that He will use these little children to impact their families.

Friday March 10th

*Sidenote* The previous Saturday we were blessed to go swimming at a 5 star resort. God had an angel in disguise named Vincy there who got us into the closed off pool for an hour which was a beautiful change of pace after our busy, hot week. We had the day off again on Friday so we went back to the Meridian hotel to swim in the pool.  We saw Vincy again and she blessed us again this time by letting the guys in even though they had their skirts on, turns out you cannot wear those to nice resorts. It was great to see her again and we found out she was a Christian by boldy asking about the cross necklace she had on. That night we went to the Fun Mall and ate Pizza Hut!

This last week in Coimbatore was full of beautiful people, good food, and a ton of kids! We’ve been so blessed by our contacts and the locals, that treated us like family! After a long overnight bus ride, we´re now in Chennai, and excited for two weeks of ministry here!

Prayer Requests:

·      Restful sleep at night

·      Team unity

·      Hear God´s voice clearly

·      To be moved by the Holy Spirit

·      Love and passion for the people of India

Thanks for your prayers and talk to you soon! Here is a picture from our time after visiting the leprosy colony.