Dearest Friends,
THE PEOPLE OF CALI
Today is Sunday and we went to a village that is named for the goddess cali. At one end of the village, they were having a festival for cali and at the other end of the village; we met with a precious group of believers. Their testimonies were incredible! One man was a former Hindu priest. You need to pray for his wife to come to faith as now she serves in the temple as a priest. Another woman came to faith who lived an immoral life and no amount of beatings or threats of divorce would stop her behavior. When she came to faith, she changed her behavior. Two years later, her husband trusted Jesus, moved by his wife’s change of character to trust Jesus. Now, 6 families form the nucleus of this sweet body of believers.
The little house that we met in belonged to the former Hindu priest. It was 3 very small rooms with concrete floors in 2 rooms and the third room was treated with cow dung that is brushed across it. They had so little, but the beautiful smiles on their faces showed just how truly rich they were in their faith. It was our great honor to spend time with these brothers and sisters and their children.
THE BIG TREE
There is a large tree that grows beside a lake near us. At this place, they worship bhatra cali, a goddess with multiple arms and a very long tongue. This is the same goddess that the people in the village serve. It is said that as they worship, their tongues grow long. Recently, thousands of people came to this spot to worship and sacrificed 100 goats. Every false god that I have ever seen requires a blood sacrifice.
I believe that it is easy for us in the West to dismiss this belief and say that we are so much wiser. Is it wiser for us to sacrifice all of our time, even our families, as we chase after things that will pass away? Our altar looks different, but is it really any different? The people of India, the people of America, people everywhere must answer 1 simple question: Am I spending my life for God’s truth or a lie?
LIFE EXPECTANCY
The average life expectancy in India is 55. I am 54 and I find this truth very sobering. With all my heart, I want to invest well the life the Father has given me. Our entire team is so blessed by the way the Father has allowed us to invest our time in India. Our hearts are full of gratitude for all of our friends at ACA, our translator Hanson, our driver Stephen, and all of the young men and women here.
AN ELEPHANT RIDE
Yesterday, we took a day off and enjoyed seeing this amazing country. We saw a white peacock and a white tiger. I loved the Indian porcupines, but they really stink. Will was thrilled to see the King cobra. We learned that it can stand upright half of its length and even has been known to knock on a door. It can stand at 6 feet tall. It’s bite is deadly and you have only 13 seconds to get the anti-venom. Unfortunately, it is only available in Thailand.
Best of all, we rode an elephant. They advertised it as the elephant joy ride. We all agreed that it gave us great joy!
PLEASE PRAY
Please pray for these last 4 days of shows and teaching and training. There is so much to do in such a short time! Our schedule is full. Please pray for strength as most of us are not well. All of us are very tired and wonderfully happy! We have seen so many children praying out loud, calling on Jesus to save them! Praise God!
In Jesus, Linda for Sam, Silvana, Will and Alli