I Give Myself Away
This 2010 Mission Trip was like no other, on our last mission to Africa I shared how this Jewel was polished. On this mission I would like to share how this jewel was strung. Just like a gemologist have divers go dig and discover pearls, our mission trip was much like this process.
The beginning of our journey started out relatively easy; First of all when we arrived at the airport, there were no long lines to stand in like previous trips and this was strange. Things were moving along so well we thought for a minute, maybe someone forgot to send us a memo about something that was happening with the airlines. And believe it or not, we had one or two very minor plane delays. God even worked it out that our 16 hour straight flight from New York to Mumbai-Bombay Airport was a piece of cake. We couldn’t believe it ourselves how the time flew.
We finally arrived in Secunderabad at 4:30 am on the 23th of February and our contact people were there to meet us with beautiful smiles on their faces, as if it was 4:30 in the afternoon. We drove a little while and soon made to the hotel we would be staying overnight in and it was simple wonderful. The next morning we ate the traditional Indian breakfast and were later on our way for about a 2 hour ride to the next hotel and then a few more hours to where the Crusade would be held. At this point, things are still just peachy.
Once we arrived at the Crusade site the people greeted us so warmly, even though many of them could not speak any English, we felt so welcomed. Now the crusade is on the way and the people were so faithfully seated, some in chairs, but most on rugs on the ground to hear the word of God. Our theme this year was: There Is No Other god Like Our God; Now beloved, remember this, we are here to share this message in a country that worships over 300 Million other gods. You don’t thing the enemy is going allow this to happen without a fight, huh?
As I sat through several services I had the opportunity to glaze into the eyes of a lot of the people and began to notice that the majority of them had sad countenances. I began to ask the Lord to show me what was really wrong. And began to share with me that they really didn’t have an intimate relationship with Him and because of this they were experiencing His fullness of JOY. Although, Missionaries may have came and share the word of God with them; most accepted what they were saying out of desperation as most of us do. But the only difference is, is that they have tried so many hundreds other gods that have now turned on them. So this is causing a major struggle to hold on to this JOY. So now that God is showing us what is taking place, o course the enemy feel now he must make himself visible and declared WAR.
The end of this crusade and the next day we was on the road again to another village to dedicated a well, there were several delays, but finally we reached our destination. Once we arrive there we saw a pipe that was where the well was, the pump was on the way, which meant we had a long wait. Finally, the pump arrived and now had to be constructed, so that meant, we wait some more. As we waited the Lord show us the diligence of the people in that village.
Now the next day we were to travel about two more hours to dedicate a church, but after we were delayed again, we later found out that we could not visit that area; we were warned, that it would not be safe, because of some violent uprising. So at the decision of contact there we didn’t go. So instead we visited another village, which was truly a test of our gifts of the Spirit. I say this, because the children were beautiful but were very much undisciplined and we started to become frustrated. Now the Lord ask me a question, Do you really give yourself away and I said; YES, so He begin to show me some of the demonic forces that were in control and a few of them had to be challenged; He also revealed through one of His servants that people were said to have recently been delivered and were previously known as the Lombardi Tribe. As we looked around at our surrounding, the very grounds we were worshiping the true and living God on had rock formations that were probably former gods. Whew! Now we knew why this challenge was so great and I am happy to report that the LOVE OF GOD prevailed. God’s love was greater than the enemy’s evil forces. The Lord began to give us strategy on how to overcome some of these major distractions. Even though, we found ourselves in this very deep dark place. His main purpose for this expedition and mission was for us to discover that He will give us Treasures in dark places. Praise The Lord!!!! Truly, “There Is No Other god Like Our God”.
Oh! You thought that was the end, right, you forgot we have an enemy. Well, now it’s time to head back home, we’re on our way to the airport and get to the ticket counter and it was brought to our attention that my husband and I had a day later departure date than the rest of the team, the travel agent made a huge mistake. Nevertheless, to adjust the ticket there was an additional fee that had to be paid, but there still was a dilemma; they could only get us as far as New York, because there were no available seats from JFK to Washington, Dulles Airport. So we decided to take what they had and handle the rest when we reached the next airport. When we got to Mumbai our team leader made a few phone calls, and seemed to get everything straighten out, so we board our next 16 hour flight assuredly, or so we thought. Well, once we made to NY we found out that the Hyderabad airport charged but did not transfer the necessary y payment to the airline that would be responsible for providing our transportation from JFK to Dulles. They should have given us a FIM which is simply a coupon. To make a long story short we eventually had to transfer to LaGuardia, Airport where there was available seat for all of us. Again, Praise The Lord!
Servant Of The Most High
Pamela Stovall
Comments
Blessings, Eileen
God loves His people all over the world and one of my mottos are: "Whatever God Loves, I Love & Whatever God Hates I Hate. So continue to plant seed in to foreign ground and God will make sure you feet thread upon it, if that is your desire. Be Bless My Dear
Love, Pamela
I was just enveloped with you sharing your travel story and what an experience to travel out the country to bless God's people. The girls are beautiful. I have a passion for missions too. Although, I have not travel out of the country yet, but I do support 4 International girls, 2 in the Dominican Republic (Wilenis Age 3 & Karima Age 9, 1 in Zambia (Beatrice)Age 8, and 1 in India (Keya)Age 6. May God bless you AbunDantly as you continue your ministry in missions and outreach as you help bless the children and families abroad. They are HisJewels and how precious!
The name of this project is called the "Hadassah Project" and our goal is to raise $50K to rebuild their building.
The second assignment is to help the children of the Lombardi Tribe, we will be working towards conducting 3-4 day Arts Camp with them when we return to India in 2011, this project is called "P.E.A.R.L. which stands for Praying Effectively And Restoring Lives. Our goal for this project is to raise $4K.
We will be posting more information soon!
"We don't just dance, We transform"
Eryka J