The Bare Bones

Our team just spent the last two days ministering in the hills, and now we are off to the city of Chennai. I can’t express to you how much I enjoyed my time in the hills of rural India. SJ has done an incredible job building relationships with tribes and developing new Christian leadership. SJ has been sharing with us his desire to build a church in a tribe we visited. These new believers have donated land and desire to worship together under one roof. Please pray for SJ as he continues a mighty work in the hills. Pray that God would protect him and his family as they risk their lives for the work of the cross.

Chennai is an extremely large city of a million people. Our mode of transportation to Chennai was a large open air train. We rode this train for 12 hours starting on Thursday morning and we arrived early that evening. Our adventure started at 2 am Thursday morning where we took a 4 hour jeep ride to the train station. The smell of these train stations will be something I wont forget for a long time. The people of India aren’t known to have the best hygiene. Bathrooms are more of a suggestion then the rule in India. The night time revealed this fact as we saw squatting person after person on the side of the roads. No bathrooms are equipped with toilet paper which means you are left with a water bucket filled with dirty water or the use of your hand. Carrie yelled at me to watch my step as I almost stepped in human waste walking onto the train. Each train car had seven bunks that could be used to sit or sleep on. Before you get pleasant thoughts of white sheets and flowery smelling beds let me give you a clearer picture of what we encountered. Each bed was a faded blue color that had the feel of a school bus seat cover. These beds were so dirty that we used wet wipes to wipe them down and still you could see the dirt lines on the beds. We were so tired that we didn’t care and used our time on the train to sleep and enjoy each others company. We were entertained with beggars and train vendors who yelled out, “Chi Chi and Coffee” for 12 hours. Train rides in India are good for seeing beautiful landscapes and thinking about how blessed we are in the U.S.A.

Over the next two days we stayed at the YWCA International. As we entered the lobby to check in we met three students from Davidson College who were doing an overseas study. These we the first Americans we had seen or met during our whole time in India. SJ brought us to Chennai for the purpose of perspective. We had seen and experienced what tribal India was all about and now it was time to see the city aspect of India. My next blog will cover my time spent in Chennai which you will not want to miss.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we spent ten hours waiting on flights, while today we have spent ten hours on a flight. I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for the team. This morning we had a tense moment making sure our seats were secure, but other than that it has been smooth flying.

I am currently writing this blog as we fly over Somalia. We are flying the airline Air Emirates. It has been a really great flight. For dinner there was a choice between salmon or chicken. I chose the butter chicken dinner which came with a chic pea salad and a pretty rocking dessert. For our midnight snack they sent around these personal pizzas which hit the spot. Carrie and I are sitting next to each other watching movies, listening to music, reading, and trying to sleep.

Our flight is going to be landing in Dubai at 7:50 Monday morning. We have a 6 hour lay over before we board a plane to fly 5 hours to Hyderabad. We should land at our final destination around 8:45 pm Monday night. Everyone’s spirits are high as we look forward to seeing SJ and his family. Continue to pray that God we reveal his plan and direction for each of us on this trip. We desire to be open vessels ready to be used at anytime.

We are leaving for India in less then 24 hours. I want to give everyone who is following a list of prayer request to pray for. Each prayer that is prayed will be appreciated by each member of this team.

Pray for the team: Carrie – Alyce – Trey – Daniel – Ian

Pray for safe travel to and from India. We fly out of Columbia, head to D.C, go to New York, and fly over the sea to India. We will also be traveling on public trains and vans while in India.

Pray for the health of the team. We have heard really bad stories of sickness. We want to be healthy so we can be used by God in the fullest capacity.

Pray for salvation of those we might come in contact with. Pray for boldness and courage as we take the gospel to this country.

Pray for God’s wisdom as we look, hear, and see in India.

None of us are worthy of the calling that God has placed on our lives. All we can do as Christ-followers is step aside for our creator God to work. Keep checking the blog for new updates as our journey begins.

On October 22nd I will be packing my book bag and heading to India. My wife Carrie and three other individuals will be joining me on this intense adventure across the sea. Some of you might be wondering how in the world did India become the destination. A year ago Lexington Baptist brought in missionaries from around the world for our Global Impact Conference. In attendance was a man from India that I will refer to throughout this post as SJ. Little did I know that God brought SJ state side for a far greater purpose that weekend than just a conference. The Student Ministry had the privilege that weekend to hear SJ speak about his family and love for the people of India. Everything SJ talked about that weekend revolved around our Savior. I am still blown away by the power of my Creator. How God uses sinful unrefined men to continue the work of the cross. What came out of that time spent with SJ was a Student Ministry that became passionate about SJ and India. I saw students calling weekly prayer meetings for SJ and his ministry. We set up opportunities to Skype with SJ and show him our support. I specifically remember one meeting where three high school guys pulled out of their wallets. Each of them handed me a single dollar bill. They decided their financial support of SJ was going to start right then and there. God was clearly on the move. Probably like most of you, India is an unknown country to me. The most I know of India are the stories told by SJ.  After months of talking, praying, and seeking God’s will the door was opened take this trip to India.

Once the days were cleared and the tickets were booked it was time to start preparing. If you don’t know my wife Carrie she is passionate about reading and a focused planner. Carrie’s first step in this process was getting a book on India and finding out what we were getting into. One night Carrie read a segment from the book on India that specifically talked about India’s public transportation. The book made reference that, “If you really want to experience India’s culture, ride a public train.” For you who are wondering what “experiencing India’s culture” means, I will give you a brief run down. Trains in India are a little different from the ones in the US. Trains in India are open air trains. These train cars are slammed packed with people and rodents (rats). It is very known that you can smell the train coming to the station. All this information would be useless except for the fact on our itinerary reads a five hour train ride. Needless to say, we will experience things that week that will change our lives.

If you are reading this post would you consider taking a second to pray for our trip to India. Each member who is going on this trip desires to be used by God. We want to be open vessels ready to be used as God leads. Pray for our health and travel safety. None of us want to spend our time focused on our health (sickness) that week. Pray that God would open the doors for a greater partnership with SJ. Pray that God would receive all the glory from this trip and Jesus’ name would be shared to those who haven’t heard.

The Trip: it is going to stretch us in ways we have never imagined. I can’t wait.

     Last week LBC students went on a mission adventure to the big city of New Orleans. Not knowing what to except, I prayed that God would reveal the “Bigger Picture” to us. I quickly realized my plans were not God’s when I was placed inside a serving track that visited nursing homes and day cares all week long. I found myself asking God, “How can ministering to 1-3 year olds really be making a difference?” I absolutely love senior adults.  However, when I hear a lady yelling out , “Henry, Henry, Henry” and then another older lady yelling at her, “Shut Up!”, it left me thinking “Why me?”  Little did I know, God was setting the stage for a “Bigger Picture” moment for me and our Student Ministry.

     I found myself stiffled by my own lack of trust in God. As I was consumed in a pile of self-loathing, I soon realized that my worship and personal time with God was being affected.  I had to come to grips with the ultimate question when it comes to mission work: “Why do we serve?”

     Throughout the week our Student Ministry had the chance to meet each night to share as a group. I asked this question of my students, “What had God done on your mission site that day?” Each night I heard the testimony of God stretching and growing the students. Some had the opportunity to share the gospel with the people of New Orleans, while others were on their hands and knees continuing Hurricane Katrina repair work. Even amongest all the great stories of serving, I started to feel that God had a “Bigger Picture” in store of this group.

     I feel one of the greatest battles for every student ministry coming off an amazing week is relaying the message at home. How can we get 30 students who have been shaken by God to go back home and bring all of the other students up to speed? I have seen too many times God’s moving get lost in transition. Something had to change in my heart and the hearts of my students before we left New Orleans. In our large group time students spoke out about the disappointment of years passed. “How is it possible that each year we come back to the same place and nothing has changed?” On Wednesday night of June 8th God revealed his “Bigger Picture”.

       The LBC Student Ministry has always struggled with letting new people into friend groups. We are a large ministry and visitors get lost in the group. This fights against who we want to be as a Student Ministry. An even greater problem is that we have people who have been coming to the church for years and they feel disconnected from the group. Why can’t Chirstians take a second and look around for those on the fringe or on the outside of the group? On Wedneday night, the LBC girls got the “Bigger Picutre”. After a series of apologies and plenty of tears, God broke through the walls that have been put up for years. The girls decided that it was time to do something about it. Over the next two days each girl intentionally ate with, worshiped beside, or sat on a 13 hour bus ride with a girl that they didn’t know that well.  I can see sitting next to someone at lunch that you don’t know, but sitting with someone for 13 hours on bus when your best friend is four rows back is radical.

     God revealed to me this week that serving is about the heart. No matter if it is with 1-3 year olds or digging up weeds, I serve to bring golory to God. We came to serve the people of New Orleans. We left realizing their is a lot of work to do in our own church back in Lexington, SC. Our Student Ministry took a large leap in breaking down the walls of isolated friendships and communities. God’s “Bigger Picture” is so much greater then our expectations. To God be the glory.