From Orphan to Church

Morning dawned cool and cloudy at the mountain Tourist Lodge at which we were staying. After coffee and morning prayer, we were ready for a busy day. And lots of driving. Around lots of hairpin turns. And covering lots of vertical feet of road (the total up-and-down vertical feet we covered in just one day was 19,000 feet)! Why all the fuss and effort? To visit a small orphanage called the Adonai Home.

The Adonai Home is tucked in a river valley in a remote part of North-eastern India. One doesn’t just “drop by” this place…you need to make a concerted effort to get here. In addition to the aforementioned mountain roads, restricted entry to this area as well as some significant road work made the journey slow, tiring, dusty, and bumpy. But we arrived, and the effort was worth it.

Wrapping up a delicious Indian dinner, a fascinating story began to unfold as we listened to the orphanage leaders tell their story. Both coming from Bhuddist backgrounds, God met them along the way and after turning their lives over to Him, He subsequently sent them to this remote valley to be His ambassadors. When they arrived in this place about 12 years ago there were no Christians at all. Not one. Imagine living in a place where there are no churches, no Christian radio stations or bookstores, no single person who understands what you mean when you say “Jesus”. But that’s exactly what they walked into.

But God had a plan. He pointed them in the direction of the town slums, a poverty-stricken sub-community living along the banks of the river. Among the slum-dwellers, God then pointed out one specific child. They took him in, began to care for him, love him, and teach him of a God who created him and had a greater plan for his life than picking up garbage along the river’s edge.

The seed fell on good soil and took root and this child became of follower of Christ. Over the course of time he began to visit his family in the slums. During one of these visits he firmly stated that no matter what he would follow Jesus. The boy’s father and mother marvelled at this deep resolve and conviction, and before long they too decided to follow Christ.

Now, several years later, there are 14 families that have trusted in Jesus as their Savior. God is growing His church! And the thing is, He did it not by way of a famous evangelist or polished presentation, He did it by way of one neglected child! One child with a soft and believing heart is what it took to launch a church in an area enveloped in spiritual darkness.

Wow…what a story, and what a lesson to us: God can use ANY of us to accomplish His purposes. What He looks for is a receptive heart, faith to follow, and courage to decide. May God inspire us by this story and help us to follow Him with the same courage and faith as this little child.