Zac's India Mission

I'm sorry for not getting the blog update earlier. I have had problems uploading the content to the blog. 

This week has been an incredible week. So much has happened that I'm sure that I am going to miss out on something important. The week began when David and I went to Jabalpur to pick up three guys from the Indianapolis area that were visiting David. Their churches are supporting churches of MICM for many years. We left on Monday night in order to go and meet with some of the guys from the movement. There were about 20 guys who were their to meet together. Later that night we went out to the slum area where some of these guys live. They wanted us to come to their house to pray and worship together. I'm pretty sure that this was one of the most incredible experiences that I have had in my life. These men who have nothing except for the hope and love of Jesus praying and worshipping the Creator of the Universe. We sat on plastic cement bags that was laid out on the floor of a palm leaf roofed hut. These men have been enslaved because of the Hindu caste system for years and now they are coming to Jesus and are leaving Hinduism and the caste system. All I kept thinking was that I am experiencing the same type of innocent and pure worship and prayer as was seen in the 1st century after Jesus has raised into heaven.

The next morning we went to pick up these guys flying in from Delhi. After we picked them up we went and and visited several churches that have been started in Jabapore. They were the traditional style churches and were nice. But after we saw two of them David wanted to show these guys a gathering of the men from the movement. It was the same experience that I had witnessed the night before but this time I remembered my camera and got some good pictures and video so that I could capture the experience. There were over 30 men and women that met again. There was a man who was there for the first time. He saw a bunch of guys walking to the meeting and asked where they were going. They told him and he joined them. By the end of the prayer meeting he was praising the name of Jesus and playing the drum. 

When we left that meeting we drove back to Damoh but we stopped at a village that David has been trying to witness to for over 10 years. I think it was six months ago he went and presented the gospel in the same manner as this movement has come about and the whole village has now come to Christ. We stopped in at the place where they gather for worship and prayer unannounced and there were over a hundred people their to welcome us and worship with us. 

The next few days David and I showed the guys from Indiana around Damoh and all the aspects of MICM. It was good because some of the places I had not seen yet. Thursday we went to another village where we met this man, Bugot Gi, David has converted through the movement who is around 80 years old. In 1940 he started worshipping only one god. He was introduced to Jesus in 1960 but didn't get the connection. David gave him a Bible a year ago and read it cover to cover. He told David, “this is the God I have been looking for since 1940.” Bugot Gi has a following over over 30,000 people who have bought into his beliefs over the past 60 years. Now he is preaching that Jesus is the one true God. We all were amazed at his prayers and worship when we met with him. The guys from Indian left Friday afternoon to head to Delhi to fly home.

Saturday was a national holiday for India, so no one had to work. I attended a flag raising ceremony early this morning. Then David and I left around 2pm to go to the state capital Bhopal to attend a district rally of the “potters caste.” The leader of this caste is a Christian and is presenting the ideas of this movement to the group meeting. There are over 60 million people in this caste throughout India. So the rally was another step for this movement with the potential of 60 million to come to Christ. Praise God and keep praying for this movement. It is incredible and I thank God everyday for allowing me to see this first hand. If you can pray for David and Sheela as they keep reaching out to people in this movement. And pray that God will continue to reveal to me why He has brought me to India during this incredible time for His Kingdom. Thanks for the prayers. 

Hello everyone,

I think what I have decided to do is every Sunday and Wednesday night I will update my blog so you don't have to check it every day thinking i'm going to update it. Anyways hope this suits you better so that you know whats going on. 

The last several days have been pretty relaxing. David and I talked and figured out a game plan as to what he would like for me to work on while I am here. I am going to focus more on rewriting and editing the content of three of the websites for the ministry. I will be able to meet with many different believers and find out exactly what is going on in their areas of ministry. We wish to have this completed by the end of February so that when the team from CCV comes they can teach and help to design and organize the websites. 

So my days during the week will consist of working at the studio working on this project. But this seems easier said than done. Everyday there are two power cuts from 8:30-10:30am and then from 1:00-3:00pm. So we can't hurry to much because we don't have power to run the computers. Luckily for me I have my laptop so I can work on typing up the content. 

This weekend David went to a nearby city to pick up Sheela from the airport as she has been in Atlanta, Georgia since last weekend. I was able to hang out with my new friend Manee and his family. Saturday afternoon he showed me around Damoh a little more and then we went out to his family farm and we shot pellet guns with his brother and uncle. It was relaxing and beautiful to see the country side. They had me over for dinner and then retired for the night. 

This morning I attended church with David's mom Pushpaw. It was a traditional westernized church service but only in Hindi instead of English. It was great to see the church and the different Sunday School classes going on in the morning. 

I was also able to call a friend from college Katie Guthrie, who has been in India since last June. The place where she is at is only 3 or 4 hours away from here. I think I am going to try and visit her the first weekend of February. It will be a treat to see her and hear all about what she has been doing for the past 7 months.

I have one request of you all. I ask that you pray that God would help me figure out why exactly he has brought me to India. It is very strange how God works sometimes and I know that He will reveal to me in time why I am here. Thank you all for your prayers thus far and for future prayers too. May you have a blessed week living for our Lord Jesus Christ. 

January 15, 2008

The past few days I have been in Bombay again. We have been waiting around until today for the Christian Media Awards, in which David is receiving an award. For those who need some perspective of this awards ceremony this awards ceremony is in the same category as the Christian Dove Awards. So this is going to be such an honor for David and his team for doing such a great job for many years. As we have talked about this award David has been so humble in reverting his success to God and His blessings upon David throughout the years. I will be taking picture for David so that he can cherish this big day for the service and work he has done for God’s Kingdom.

I believe that tomorrow will be the day we catch the train to go to Damoh, where David and Sheila have their home. I will finally get a chance to settle down and feel at ease because we have been in the big city since I have been here. I am looking forward to getting to see the smaller towns of India. 

Yesterday I was able to meet some incredible brothers and sisters in Christ. I climbed part way up a coconut tree and ate my first Indian meal with only my hands. It was definitely a great day of firsts and I am learning a ton about the Indian culture. Each day there are new things to be learned. Last night I was able to sleep very hard through most of the night, but I have been taking sleeping pills to aid in staying asleep. Hopefully whenever I get to Damoh I will be adjusted to the time zone and able to sleep and operate normally.

As for prayer requests I ask that you pray for our safety as we travel to Damoh tomorrow. It is about a 19 hour train ride from Bombay to Damoh. Wow! I think this may put to shame the 15 hour plane ride on the way over here. I hope that my battery in my ipod and computer stay charged for 19 hours. No, it will be ok. We will be traveling throughout the night so I will be able to sleep most of the way. Anyways keep us in your prayers tomorrow as we travel. Whenever I get to Damoh I will try to upload some pictures so that you can see what I have been doing.

Love 

Zachary

Tomorrow is the big day. I depart from Phoenix at 11:56am and arrive to Newark, NJ at 6:45pm (eastern time). Then I leave Newark at 8:20pm on my 15 hour flight from Newark to Mumbai (formerly Bombay ). I should arrive in Mumbai at around 9:40pm ( India time, making it around I think 7:40am CT) on Thursday January 10.

I am not sure how long it will be before I am able to send my first posting in India . I will be in Mumbai for almost a week because David is receiving a life time achievement award for Christian media at a Christian Media Awards Night sometime next week. It may not be until sometime next week but I will try my best to do it earlier. I will try and update the blog at least twice a week if I have the capabilities.

In my devotion time this morning God reminded of the verse in Romans 12:1-2 which says