Steve Scudder of Bluffton First Baptist Church shares from the word of God during a family seminar in India.It’s 7 a.m. on Friday. My team is still sleeping, though they will soon be up. Three will be leaving at 10 a.m. to join a ladies’ group in a poor district near here. While they are gone, the three left will pack and prepare for a satsang this afternoon. (Satsang, which literally means “fellowship of truth,” is a time of congregational worship.) These are our last assignments before going home. We are ready to join our families and friends back in the States, but part of our hearts will remain.
God has changed us in India. I can see it in our faces, the way we interact with each other, and in our prayer life. It has been a great adventure. No one has been ill. Opportunities to share hope and Good News have risen everywhere we turned. People have welcomed us to their land. And God has moved mightily.
Last night, God changed what Ralph and I planned to do at a meeting. We were in a room filled with women, teens and children while eight or 10 men stood outside, pretending not to listen. Ralph shared the story of Nicodemus. I talked about the loving father and the lost son and explained how that reflected my story. Adam Wems* wrapped it up by sharing the story of a woman caught in adultery and the story of two men jailed in Philippi. Only five in the group shared opinions similar to ours. They all listened intently, and we saw the contemplation on their faces as they considered the Good News they heard. The pastor who was with us will follow up on this flock.
Jan Oliver of Bluffton First Baptist Church plays with a child during a home visit in India.Mary Ellen went prayerwalking with Sadhu, a former Hindu holy man who now follows Jesus. (Sadhu is a Christian believer from Brahmin background who has truly taken up the priestly functions of his caste. He wears the saffron robe and follows the teaching and lifestyle of a sadhu, an itinerant holy man. He devotes himself fully to Jesus and is very effective in sharing the Good News through stories.) It was late afternoon, and they were in a predominantly-Muslim colony. They approached two men leaning against a wall. Sadhu spoke to them for a moment and then invited Mary Ellen to share a story. She told the one about the loving father and lost son. As she shared, they were joined by 20 more men who listened intently. Just as the story finished, two police officers arrived and dispersed the crowd. As Mary Ellen and Sadhu walked away, the men followed. Sadhu shared further with them as they walked. When they reached the point where they had to go separate ways, Mary Ellen asked if the men would like someone to come back to share more stories. The men said enthusiastically, “Yes!”
Jeanette Kilpatrick of Shell Point Baptist Church tells a shopkeeper in India about Jesus.We have had many experiences like these while visiting here.
God is moving, and India is changing. We are changing, too. Praise be to God, who loves us and helps us to grow closer to him and more like Jesus.
*Name changed for security reasons.
Editor’s Note: Scudder is a member of Bluffton First Baptist Church and director of missions for Savannah River Baptist Association. This fall he led a team of six South Carolina volunteers, mostly senior adults from Bluffton First and Shell Point Baptist churches, on a short-term mission trip to India. To learn more about the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s service opportunities planned for 2008 in South Asia, visit www.scbaptist.org/international/article97982c591322.htm.