“Jesus was walking through all the towns and villages teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them.”
Matthew 9:35-36

Our hectic travel schedule and lack of wifi has kept me from my ability to have a daily blog update the past few days, so I am going to share a brief summary of an emotionally overwhelming week while I have a limited connection! This is a quick one from my cell so I’ll have to clean up some of the details later =)

We arrived in Delhi Sunday night and Monday drove out to Rohtak in the district of Haryana to visit two church plants, one was in a leper colony and the other was in a local slum. I was captivated by the hearts of the children and adults that we encountered and have such an appreciation the work that God has been doing in these areas. Church planting takes on a whole new meaning when you are walking through an area such as these.

Tuesday we visited a school served by a local pastor who is also leading a church plant. The capacity here for a training center and the ability to have a long term impact was great. The lunch conversation with my new friends Dr. CV Vadavana of Sathyam Ministries and Ivan Veldhuizen of Converge Worldwide International Ministries crystallized in my mind what a partnership might look like. I was proud of our conference and excited about where God is moving.

Wednesday we traveled to Patna in the district of Bihar to visit two church plants and a training center, where 12 students were diligently studying for the ministry God was calling them toward.

Thursday we visited a local church plant and then gathered together with several pastors and influential leaders in the area. Ivan did a fantastic job representing Converge and casted a strong vision for what a partnership in India might look like.  There was energy in the room and I am jazzed about where God is leading to say the least.

Friday morning we flew into Kolkata. I had an opportunity to see the area and headed to the airport after dropping off Ivan and CV at the hotel. They are continuing on through the weekend to meet with local pastors and and leaders and visiting church plants. Ivan is teaching Sunday in a church started by William Carey – okay, that is way cool!

I’m still pondering a few thoughts and will have to share later, but for now, I gotta move. Thank you for your prayers!

On the journey together,
Richard