On Sunday, we were in two churches--one in the morning and another that evening. In both, there were lots of healings. Our team prayed for the sick in the morning; at night, I taught about healing, then had the people pray for one another. There were many, many healings; the best part is that now the church knows they can effectively pray for the sick themselves.
Monday was a day of rest. Some of the team went to the Rock Garden, one of the famous sights in Chandigarh. A few of them rode some very large camels. Others went shopping for Indian clothes and gifts. On Tuesday we drove for 2-3 hours up into the Himalayan foothills. The scenery was incredibly beautiful as we climbed about 5,000 feet from the lowlands to a town quite literally built on the side of the mountain. During the clinic, one of the nurses prayed for a woman with a totally blind eye. First she could see a dim light. More prayer. Now the light was bright. More prayer. Now she could see shapes. Pray again. Now she could see clearly from an eye that only a few minutes earlier was completely blind. Another team member prayed for a deaf woman. After praying a few times, she was no longer deaf. After the clinic, people gathered from the village for a meeting in the old church that the house church network uses for celebrations. God's presence was very strong, and as we continued to worship, His presence continued to increase. It was a very rich time together.
Today, I am writing this report in a Sikh temple, where we were invited to conduct our medical clinic. This invitation is a big breakthrough in this totally Sikh village. Before we began the clinic, our team worshiped and prayed inside the temple while the Sikh elders watched. It is a very peaceful clinic. While the medical team works inside, the prayer team is busy praying for the people as they wait outside. Two of the team went out in the village with one of our partners. They spoke to a woman who was having difficulty walking. After she explained that she was in great pain in her knees, they prayed for the lady and she was totally healed. Excitedly, she invited them to come to her home. There, they watched Jesus heal each family member. Then they all gave their hearts to the Lord. Now there is a house of peace, a beach head in this village. Randeep's team will come back next week to follow up. Soon there will be a cluster of house churches in this village.
This morning I was reading Paul's letter to the Colossians, where he wrote:
[The Gospel] is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. (Colossians 1:6 HCSB)
This is what we are witnessing every day here in India. The Gospel growing and bearing fruit. New houses of peace, which will become new house churches, are being established every day as we go to community after community.
As Jesus said, "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so show yourselves to be My disciples."
Thursday. Randeep met with the team to tell us that in all his life, he has never heard of a Christian group being invited into a Sikh temple to do a clinic and pray. He wanted us to know just how historic (Randeep's word) this was. As soon as we got back to the city, his phone began to ring with people from that village asking for him to come back. This was a huge breakthrough.
This morning, we went back to the beggars' community to distribute water filters. There are now at least 500 people with permanent access to clean water. As well, many were healed and saved as we gathered in clusters all over the community to teach them about the filters. Next week, Randeep's team will follow up and establish house churches (which will need to meet outside, as there are no real houses here).Tonight, we had a wonderful celebration dinner with about 50 of us. Randeep told us that this year, there has been even more fruit than our first Journey. We are thankful, but sad to see the last day of this great adventure.
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