While our mission team was in India, we visited 12 different village churches and conducted the worship service at each. Let me take you through a typical village church service. When we arrived, mostly by car but on one occasion by motorcycle because that church was so far off the beaten path, we would often be greeted by lovely homemade banners welcoming us to that particular church. We could always tell when we were getting close to the church because we would hear the people singing Christian songs in Telugu. On a few occasions, the people lined up on the side of the path leading into the structure, often a thatched hut, and showered us with flower petals as we entered. (The last time something like that happened to me was my wedding day eleven years ago--and in that case we were hit with bird seed!) There would always be chairs at the front of the worship area for us to sit in; the people in the congregation would be sitting on the floor--with the children usually in front and the men and women sitting on opposite sides of the room. Then the congregation often placed garlands of flowers around the necks of each team member at the service--an act of honor and generosity. Finally, they would bring us cold bottles of Seven-up, Limca (a lime soft drink bottled in India), or Froota (an Indian mango soft drink.)

After the congregation finished singing to us, one of the members of our team, through a translator, would bring greetings from the United States, and more particularly from Fort Wayne and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. We would then present the pastor with a gift that would honor him and his leadership in the church. We had purchased some IPFW pennants and fountain pens to share as gifts and these tokens were greatly appreciated by the pastors. Next, the team would usually sing a song or two in English after explaining what the song was about through a translator. The people in these churches loved to hear us sing even though they couldn't understand the words. Then, a member of our team would share a story of faith, again through a translator, describing how God had been good and worked in their life at some point in the past. Some of the students talked about why they came to India and what God had been showing them since their arrival. A member of our team would then preach a simple Bible message based on some Scripture passage. Often, since where we were in India is a prominently Hindu region, we would talk about Jesus Christ being the only true God and the way to Heaven. Hindus believe in hundreds of gods, a fact brought home to us in a powerful way as we saw hundreds of Hindu shrines and idols as we traveled around Rajahmundry. Finally, the people in the church would line up for prayer and team members would circulate through the crowd, laying hands on the people and praying for them. This part of the service was extremely meaningful to members of our team.

A couple of things impressed me deeply about the people we met in these services. First, although it was apparent that they had very little in the way of material possessions, they were very generous to us with the gifts of garlands and soft drinks. The Indian people we met modeled the kindness and sacrificial giving that Jesus demonstrated by coming to earth and dying on a cross to save us from ourselves. I will never forget how happy they were to give to us. And even though they did not have much, they dressed in the most beautiful, colorful clothing at these services. I especially appreciated that the children were honored by being placed at the front of the church so that they could see and hear what we had to share. My wife pointed out time and time again how a simple smile, despite the fact that we did not know their language, communicated so much. They would smile so quickly and easily in return. We really fell in love with the Indian people we met.

More importantly, I was deeply moved by the hunger that these people demonstrated to receive prayer. They desperately wanted us to pray for them and would wait patiently in line for one of our team to reach them. When I had a translator with me, I could be told what their prayer requests included. I was interested to find that many of the children asked for prayer to do well in school. Mostly, the prayer requests could have come from people in a suburban American church--family problems, a husband who is an alcoholic, infertility, or some sort of physical illness. It was the desperation to receive prayer that I noticed more than the prayer requests themselves. Even Hindu non-believers would line up outside of the church and ask for prayer. I have too often shown a lukewarm approach to prayer in my own life and the hunger of these people for prayer puts me to shame. In I Thessalonians 5:16, Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, "Be joyful always; pray continually." I saw both of these commands obeyed so beautifully by the Indian Christians we met. I am grateful that God gave us the privilege to meet them and to be encouraged by their example.

Heavenly Father, give us a hunger to pray and receive prayer like that of the Indian Christians we recently met. Help us to give at Your beckoning beyond our ability to give. Move us to trust You for all that we have and all that we are. Bless Pastor Prasad and his family as they serve and love in Your name these beautiful people. In Jesus' Name, Amen.