Wednesday, August 18, 2010

John’s Recap of Our 2009 Visit to India

February 20, 2009

Rolling Stone Ministries has served on three continents–North America, Africa and now Asia. Bwana asifiwe! (“Praise the Lord” in Swahili)

In January Laurie and I had the privilege of spending two weeks in India, where we taught classes and lead seminars.

The founder of the Institute where we taught received his training at the same time and at the same California college where my father attended. The founder’s son, who currently heads the Institute in India, attended the same graduate school that I did in California (just a few years after me). With all those connections, I never met the founder’s son until we arrived in India!

Wherever we go in the world, the “common salvation” spoken of in the New Testament book of Jude (verse 3) jumps out of the pages of Scripture and comes alive. Even though we were 12,000 miles from home, meeting fellow-believers in places like India confirms that our spiritual heritage is a greater unifying factor than race, ethnicity, language, etc. In short, we felt at home with the saints in India, as we also have felt in Kenya. The Spirit of the Lord transcends political, cultural and linguistic boundaries.

At the Institute in India I taught in their two graduate programs. I enjoy the academic challenge of preparing teachings for graduate students and find it even more challenging when I have no clue ahead of time about the culture of the students in my classes. The students at the Institute were very attentive, and very bright. I always aim to provide practical application no matter what subject I teach. The graduate students appeared to truly appreciate the emphasis on practical application. These are the future leaders in India and we considered it an awesome privilege to help in the shaping of their thinking and training.

The first week at the Institute, Laurie taught a three-day seminar on prayer to a group of female students who came from a northern Indian state. This was the only time that either of us needed an interpreter during our time in India. Most everyone we encountered in the area has some proficiency in English which made our teaching and speaking much easier. During the second week, Laurie taught a three-day seminar to the staff of the Institute.

There is no easy way to summarize two wonderful, rewarding weeks in India.

Suffice to say that we caught the vision of what is being done and what needs to be done. We trust that our efforts played a role, if only a small one, in bringing that vision to fruition. Much work needs to be done, which from the human perspective seems impossible. However, with God nothing is impossible
Please join our continuing prayer for the people of India. Thank you for partnering with Rolling Stone Ministries as we avail ourselves of this opportunity.

See Photo Gallery for photos of trip to India.

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