Monday, October 27, 2014

DTS Outreach to Kolkata, India week 1

Blog weekly recap
                * Tuesday 10/21
Welcome to India! After multiple plane rides we safely arrived around 2am in Kolkata to meet our Mega Cities organizers. They then took us to where we would be staying for the next month, Church of the Nazarene. We had a brief meeting to explain the region we get to minister to and a refresher on "Do's" an "Do Nots".  After that most of us caught up on our sleep trying to get adjusted to the 12 hour time difference. That night for dinner we found a restaurant named Ujans with great food and it was very clean which is very important in a new and foreign country!  

                * Wednesday 10/22
                The real fun began on Wednesday as we went further into the city into region 1 to buy appropriate ministry clothing. This was the first real taste of India and I think we hit the ground running. We were blessed enough to have a taxi driver who we were able to talk about  Jesus with and wanted our phone number to stay in contact with during our time here. After all the shopping was done we had the great experience to find a way back to church we are staying at. God is always good in providing people to help and multiple people graciously helped get us all safely back home. The people are beyond friendly and helpful. The Indian people especially loved the fact that some of us were trying to learn Hindi phrases in order to somewhat communicate. An excitement filled Day 2 in the books!

                * Thursday 10/23
                Day 3 in the city of Kolkata brought its first ministry opportunities and this consisted of a day of open air Bible reading and a group to prayer walk in order to lay a foundation for the rest of our ministry. God opened up doors with groups of people who were intrigued by what we were doing and gave us the opportunity to openly talk about Jesus. The biggest surprise was that most of whom we talked had heard of Jesus; but were so open they believed not only in Jesus, but all gods. For lunch we again returned to, the soon to be favorite spot, Ujans and dinner we had the pleasure of cooking our first meal in the new living quarters.

                *Friday 10/24
                Friday no matter where you live is always a wonderful day this Friday did not disappoint. We decided to head to the far parts of our zone and this required an exciting ride on Indian Train. The ride to, was fun with very little other passengers due to a awkward travel time, but after a morning of prayer walks in this neighborhood the ride back was drastically different. During our morning  prayer walks one of our groups ran into a rickshaw driver who gave us a flyer to attend his Christian church.  If the ride up there was fun then this made the ride back comparable to an amusement park in excitement! There was standing room only and quite a bit more passengers, but a great experience which none of us will forget! Day 4 again involved a food stop at the delicious Ujans and  Bible reading in the afternoon.

                * Saturday 10/25
                Started off the morning as usual with a great time of worship, and this day began the group starting to lead for ministry. Some groups hopped on the train for Bible reading outside our neighborhood and others went to the local square and held open air worship and reading of the Bible. Indian people are extremely kind and often would invite our groups to eat at their homes and would offer us chai tea at the nearest tea shop.  Every group finished this day with more Bible reading in the streets which is planting lots of seeds as we can easily share what we are doing.

                * Sunday 10/26
                This Sunday we were told to meet the pastor at the train station, of who we were asked to lead the service with worship and the sermon. The pastors wife showed us the way to the church which is not very far from where we are staying, but to our groups amazement it was the exact church the rickshaw driver had invited us to. Crazy sometimes how God arranges things without us realizing it til it happens. The service was amazing and we were incredibly blessed to worship with these group of believers, and it was such a great time of God refreshing us for what He has next for us!

                Over all a great week to begin our time here thanks to all the supporters and mostly to God for giving us this opportunity. Be in prayer for the people here so that we may convey Jesus as the only path to the Father as the Way, Truth and Life. That the seeds being planted will produce lasting fruit, and for the Holy Spirit to go before us preparing people's hearts. Also for the group overall for continuing to stay unified and strength to do what God has called us to do, and for the leaders for rest and wisdom. Again thank you to all those that have generously given to make this possible, and for the past and future prayers. Stay tuned for the coming weeks news and exciting announcements of what God is doing through us in India and Nepal! God Bless!



No comments: