Dearest Friends,
Yesterday and today, we left very early. So, we passed through some villages along the side of the road just as they were waking. How can I describe to you the poverty that people endure here? They have houses made of straw mats in the villages that look more like broken tents than houses. Life is so hard, but still, always their greatest need is Jesus. They have less than nothing because they live in total darkness. These dear people have no hope in this life and worse, no hope for the life that is to come.
Sometimes I imagine a different India. What if God poured His spirit on this place and all idol worship and demons were wiped from this land? What would India be without this crippling darkness? Please pray for God to raise up national believers to take His light into the darkness.
MUSLIM LADY
Yesterday at a show a large crowd of adults stood at the gates of the school and watched the entire program. There was one lady in the crowd who was a Muslim. She was wearing a full berka with only a narrow slit for her eyes to show. Sometimes when you’re telling a story, you can look straight into their eyes and sense that they are listening. This lady stared at me as I told the children the story about Jesus. She seemed hungry to hear and remained even through the prayer, when the children prayed out loud asking Jesus to be their Savior. Please ask the Father to call her to faith. He knows her name. When we finished I went over and spoke to all of the people at the gate and thanked them for listening. Mostly, I wanted an opportunity to look into her eyes and let her know that I really cared that she heard about Jesus.
WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS
Tomorrow, we will try to do what we were unable to do today. We will travel to another city to present the Gospel to 2,000 children. They live in an exceptionally dark place where there are very, very few Christians. More, they worship the wilder of the Hindu deities which require a buffalo or goat sacrifice, though chickens are most common.
On our way there today, we were hit in the rear by a fully loaded milk truck that had no brakes. No one was hurt; not even the people riding in the back of the truck. Praise God! However, we spent the next 12 hours plus trying to deal with the police. Our driver was not at fault, but accidents are handled very differently here than in the states. All of the milk company’s wives came to the police station. It was quite a scene. We missed all of our shows. Since our exiting the vehicle would have only made matters worse, we remained seated in the car. Directly across from us was a butcher. We watched him kill a lot of chickens, chop them up and sell them. Some hung beside the goat carcass which changed color as the day went on.
At one point we were surrounded by about 35 school-age boys who were fascinated by how strange we looked. Alli had fallen asleep for a few minutes and woke up to find the vehicle was surrounded. None of them spoke English, but we still had a good time visiting with them. It’s funny how the children are drawn to us just because we look so different.
I want to brag on everyone’s amazing attitude today. No one ever complained; they just prayed and enjoyed the view. I laughed so much that my sides began to hurt. Everyone kept their sense of humor.
Please pray for a safe journey tomorrow as our friends here say that they often experience all kinds of problems when they come to this city. We will teach our last class tomorrow evening at 7:00pm after the shows and leave for the airport at 10:00pm. We will be home on Friday. I am very concerned that we are able to share with these children. Please make this a serious matter of prayer. Thank you.
Love in Jesus,
Linda, for the team
Sam Shaw, assistant director
Silvana Shaw, Will & Allison Jackson