Persistence and Prayer

Dear Kidstown Friends,

I’ve spent the last 11 days here in India. It’s been a full and productive time. God’s hand of blessing and protection has been evident. Our ability to be flexible was also tested (such as dodging a cyclone and “on the fly” re-designing 25% of our itinerary). We slept in many different places (and with varying critters, including salamanders, giant cockroaches, and a VERY large spider). Our days and nights seemed to run one into the other – sometimes getting up at 4am and once even going to bed at that time. Airplanes, cars, a fast yet wobbly train, bumpy roads, lots of dust and exhaust fumes, and the somewhat frequent (yet manageable) uneasy stomach.

There is a reason and purpose for all of this, however. You see, God is at work here and He has beckoned (all of us) to join Him. Just like a farmer plants seedlings and then nurtures their growth, so God has planted seedlings (Christian orphanages) which He is nurturing for the sake of the growth of His Kingdom here in India. It is here, in these small children homes, that the Gospel is lived out. It is here that kids are loved and cared for. It is here that kids learn about a God who created them, loves them, and has a plan for their lives. It is also here that God is quietly raising up the next-generation of witnesses – young boys and girls who He wants to deploy one day, back to their own people, with the Gospel.

Of the 2,200 or so ethnic people groups in India, about 2,000 have little or no Gospel witness among them.* Many of these groups, if you or I were to visit and nonchalantly ask a townsperson if they knew about Jesus, they would just look at us, wondering what we are talking about. Reaching these groups with the Gospel is a real challenge due to the diversity in languages, cultures, and religious frameworks.

This is why indigenous (native) witnesses are so important. They can speak the language of their people group, and they understand the culture and customs. They are ideal candidates for taking the Gospel to their own peoples, able to present it in such a way that the people can understand that Jesus came for them.

Back to our orphans. Many of our orphans are from unreached people groups. They are living now at a Christian orphanage, learning and understanding the Gospel message. One day they will leave and likely will have contact with their people group in one way or another. What if they took the Gospel back with them?

Friends, this CAN be a reality, but it won’t come without a lot of hard work and prayer. For the orphanage leaders, it means persistently sharing missional vision with the kids under your care. It is imperative that you keep “stirring the pot”, keeping this missional vision alive. For the rest of us, it means praying, in accordance with Matthew 9:38, that God will “send forth laborers into the harvest”. And by this we mean our orphans.

Persistence and prayer. It’s a long-term strategy, but if we stick with it, God will do great things!

*The Joshua Project