Mark Sorensen Friends. I am a day late in posting. We have just gotten back from the hotel finishing up our first day of leading the three day conference we have come to participate in. What we saw today was just incredible. WIFI, as I feared, is not easy to grab. SO, here’s yesterday’s post. I will update you (Lord willing) tomorrow with today’s events.
The morning with the team started with breakfast and a devotion from the book of Acts. I love reading from Acts. On the other side of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Jesus met with the disciples and reminded them that, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And then? He ascended into the clouds. Now, for a brief moment, I believe the disciples were a little dumbstruck. Jesus ascends and they watch. And stare. And wait. Here’s what I love. I feel like God nudges one of the angels and says, “Yeah. They’re totally not moving. Go down there and give them a push, would you?” Then, out of nowhere, two angels appear next to the disciples and asked, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). That’s when it clicked. Jerusalem. Judea and Samaria. To the ends of the earth. And this is exactly what happened. They took the command of Jesus seriously, in spite of the oppression, in the face of martyrdom, all for the glory of God and all with the single purpose to advance the Kingdom here on this earth, today.
Simply beautiful.
So, we boarded a flight and left Delhi headed to Patna, India, which is where we all find ourselves this evening. I am not sure what I was expecting but I wasn’t quite expecting what I found when we arrived at our location. Patna, India, has over two million people living in her city. To get a better perspective, this would mean that there are 4,700 people per square mile. To say it is crowded is an understatement. Along with the overcrowded streets and amidst the noise, there is such poverty. Heartbreaking images of faces in need and hearts lacking hope.
But, the good news of the Gospel? We’re never without hope.
Just as the disciples heard the call from Jesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit and take the good news into the world, each of us have the very same calling on our lives. And, this is what launches our team into the next 5 days we spend here in this city.
Tomorrow morning, we begin a three day conference where each member of our team will be helping to lead and speak to nearly 100 Christian men and women gathering to hear the good news proclaimed and take what they have learned back into their homes and home churches. The men of our group will be taking part in leading a conference aimed at training and equipping pastors for ministry. We’ll be leading sessions including topics like, “Passion for the Harvest”, “Biblical Leadership”, “Multiplication by Discipleship”, “Overcoming Obstacles”, and the “Practice of Evangelism”, to name a few. The women of our group will be involved in leading TWO different conferences happening at the same time. The Hope for Today Women’s Seminary, and Children Ministers and Sunday School Teachers Training. Each day will involve close to twelve hours of conference leading and relationship building. Pray the Holy Spirit will move. We anticipate great things coming from this time in the mission field.
Sunday, we will split up as a team and attend various house church services. I will be preaching at one of the house churches in Patna, as well as Dr. John Hull who will be preaching at another. Then, Sunday evening we will all worship together at another house church location. Monday? We travel to some areas of Patna in need to offer prayer and support as we serve as His hands and feet.
It’s been an emotional day for me. It’s overwhelming to see such need in the world. At the same time, I can’t help but smile as I have seen God move and work in so many ways while we have been here. Every time we have met some sort of opposition or conflict, resolution has come quickly and I watch John Hull just crack a smile, tilt his head to the side and say the words, “God is so very good.”
I have to agree.
I end you this evening (your morning) with this, my “comical moment of the day”. We had a pretty authentic Indian meal this evening for supper. It was fantastic. However, when eating in India, you never eat with your left hand (google it if you’re in the dark). So, as I moved through the meal, I was tearing off bread right handed, sitting on my left hand and thinking, “Hey, I am doing a pretty fantastic job here”. As we were wrapping up the meal, a bowl of clear liquid with a floating lime was placed in front of me. “What could this be?” I pondered. Perhaps some kind of palate cleansing sweet sugar water? I’ll give it a shot. So I put my spoon into the bowl. Then, at the end of the table, one of my team members, Kirsten, whispered something rather frantically at me. Having little to no idea what she was saying, I tried to avoid her. Finally, she spoke loud enough for me to hear… “Take… the spoon… out of the bowl…”
I was about to eat from the bowl that was intended to be used to scrub and wash your hands with.
Now I know.
Your prayers and comments mean so much to each member of this team as we travel. Thank you for your prayers! They’re felt and appreciated.
