Day 1: We Made It Through the Long Journey

We finally made it.  After three flights, one bus ride, and over 24 hours of straight travel time, we can finally say that we made it to Guntur which will serve as our "home base" for the trip.  It was an adventure to try and make sure that we made each flight on time and that all of our luggage followed us (some of it didn't) and that we tried to rest during the longer flights (some of us didn't).  Regardless, we are here now and while most of the team is exhausted from the travel, we all truly feel blessed to be here.

That sentiment was shared tonight around the supper table as we gathered around some soup, curry and a thin bread that looked like a burrito.  We truly feel blessed to be here because we already are seeing how God is working in the lives of His people here through Bible Faith Lutheran Ministries to India.

As I promised before, I would share a little bit more about Bible Faith Lutheran Ministries to India. Based on what we experienced today, now would be a great time to share with you what this ministry does for the people in India.  Essentially, BFLMI can be divided into three groups of ministries: the 40 congregations and 30 pastors that make up BFLMI, the Moriah School and their pre-seminary/seminary institution.  All of them are working throughout India to share the grace of Jesus Christ in it's many forms and we got to see all of them at work today as we gathered at the Moriah School for a greeting held in our honor.  Below are the pictures and video of the event:

 A message greeted us with flower petals which read, "Hearty Welcome to Dear Missionaries"

After the ceremony spending time with the children and their teachers

Arlen Krinke, a former principal, talking with the teachers of the Moriah School

Visiting a classroom full of children.  They stand because we are honored guests.

A picture of the school from the front of the building

A video of what we walked into this morning at the school.

We were truly honored to receive such a warm welcome from everyone who was gathered there today.  Many of the pastors were present along with all of the children and teachers from the Moriah School.  It was truly a blessed time.  However, as I watched the BSLC group interact with the children, teachers and pastors, I firmly believe that the blessings were truly happening in those interactions because it was there we heard about God working in the lives of His people.

I want to share one of the stories I heard from someone who was there today.  His name is Daniel and he shared about his own life and coming to Christ in the midst of pretty hard times.  He shared with the group that his parents died at a very young age.  It was hard for him to cope and understand the loss he was experiencing.  He prayed many times asking the Hindu gods why they would do this to him but there was no answer.  Finally, with no answers and no help from the gods, Daniel tried to take his own life.  Fortunately for him, it didn't work.  It was during this time that God was continuing to work on Daniels heart.  You see, Daniel had heard about Jesus through some friends and also the loudspeaker that the Bible Faith church in his area played during their services so the community could hear the service and the word.  Through these opportunities, Daniel was led to believe in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  Daniel shared that when he was ready to believe, something strange happened to him.  He remembers an ominous presence filling his body and the room.  Suddenly, before him the Hindu gods he had previously worshiped appeared and were trying to persuade him to not believe in Jesus.  Daniel shared that in that moment words from a hymn popped into his head.  He had heard these words over and over again from the Bible Faith loudspeaker that played during the worship service.  Essentially, these lyrics were, "through the journey of life, there is only one God above all".  And so Daniel kept praying these words in that moment and all of a sudden, the gods were gone.  No more persuasion, no more ominous presence...just peace.  Through this Daniel was not just brought to faith, but he also became one of the first class of pastors that Bible Faith has produced over the years.  But it didn't stop there because beyond that, Pastor Daniel had a brother who was Hindu.  For years Pastor Daniel prayed for his brother and sure enough his brother not only came to believe in Jesus as his savior but also became a pastor for Bible Faith.

It's a great story that shows our God at work through His people here and through Bible Faith Lutheran Ministries to India.  People like Daniel are coming to know who Jesus is for them and that "through the journey of life, there is only one God above all".  May we be reminded of that as well no matter where we are on the journey.  Whether it's 24 hours of travel to get to your destination or simply making it through the next hour, we will make it through Christ and Christ alone.

Tomorrow will be the start of having people from our mission trip tell the story on the blog.  So come check it out!  Hopefully they don't get as long winded as the pastor :)  God's richest blessings to you all from Guntur, India.

Pastor Joe Behnke