Billy's video

Day #4

Today we split up into three groups. One group (Andy, Jenny, Lindsay, Tyler, Billy, and Ramesh) went to a pastor's conference, where the boys talked to the pastors about church growth. Afterward, they went into a local village to worship and pray with the believers there.

Another group (Brett, Drew, Will, and Vijay) visited two different villages. They preached and worshiped with community churches. Drew preached on God's faithfulness through the story of Abraham, Brett shared the story of the sick man who was lowered through the room just to see Jesus, and Will spoke about the relationship of faith and works in a believer's life.

The third group (Jana, Lauren, Michelle, Shannon, and me) met with Jaya, a leader in the Indian church, who had been teaching at a village church for the past two weeks. She helped lead a worship service where we each shared a brief message to the local believers. We kept the messages simple to best reach these uneducated new believers. Jana spoke about how we will all worship together in heaven, Shannon shared a passage in Isaiah about how God deserves our worship, and then Lauren shared her testimony. I spoke on how a believers life is continually transformed, and Michelle finished up by explaining that it's our job to make disciples of all nations.

This was a fantastic experience for all of us. There are so many stories to share - we will give you the full version when we return home.

We are all still doing well and we love you all!

Day #3

Today we visited a village where COI has helped plant a church. Brett and Will shared the Five Threads of the Gospel with the villagers, and it went very well. Afterward, one young man came up to the front to give his testimony. He said that he had been suffering from fainting and seizures, but now, after believing in Jesus, he had been healed. Another man came up to the front and asked for prayer for his grandson, who was currently in the hospital because he had fluid in his lungs. Drew led us in prayer for his grandson. After the meeting was adjourned, some of us started passing out candy to the kids, while Brett and VJ continued to pray with some of the villagers who had additional prayer requests. The people were all very appreciative that we came to visit them. The children all wanted to take pictures with us, and the few people who spoke a bit of English got to know us a little better.

Tomorrow, Andy, Billy, and Tyler will be speaking at a pastor's conference in the morning, and we will all be visiting several other villages to continue sharing the gospel and visiting with the house churches there.

Thank you all for your continued prayer support. We love you all!

Day #3

Yesterday we got the opportunity to visit some of COI's ministries - a school, an orphanage, and two of the women's vocational centers. At one of the vocational centers, the ladies learn cosmetology, and all the girls were able to get henna tatoos. 

Today we're traveling to a village in the northern part of India. Internet access will be very limited

We are all safe and we love you all!

Day #2!

We're about to get started on our second day of ministry. Yesterday was fantastic!

The ladies spent all day at the women's shelter. In addition to teaching, we also spent some time in corporate worship and playing games with the women there.

The men got a chance to minister to some of the slum kids who came to see them play cricket. Drew's talk went very well, and the kids were very interested in seeing their English Bibles.

Afterward, we all went shopping at a crafts market. It was a good overview of the many different areas of India.

Ramesh, Brett, Vijay, Drew, Will, Andy

Today, we're going to visit the slums and one of Ramesh's Vocational Training Schools. We're all doing well and super excited about what today will bring.

Thanks for your prayers and we love you all!

We're in India!

We got in India safe and sound, and all our luggage got here too!

It's about 10am on Monday morning here. We're about to leave for our ministry assignments. The ladies will be speaking on the Gospel and Womanhood, Marriage, and Parenting. The men will be meeting with the youth to play cricket, and Drew will be speaking to them on integrity for growing leaders.

Internet access is spotty here, so updates may be few and far between. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

We're in Minneapolis!

We have a long layover in Minneapolis before leaving for Amsterdam later on this afternoon.

We spent some time goofing off in the souvenir shop...