GoWests!

Hello! below is another update from the team in Kolkata. It came through several days ago, but it’s still powerful, interesting, and relevant. Bear this in mind: Rachel has been to India multiple times, and has worked in Kolkata, and the Mother Theresa Home, multiple times. She isn’t a stranger to suffering.  Lord, bless these teams!  (For something a little less profound perhaps, keep an eye out for a new page on our site, one that carries several of our DTS equip leadership lectures, as well as various teachings and lectures from me (Jeremy).  Coming very soon…)

Greetings from Kolkata!

Last Tuesday at the Prem Dan Mother Teresa home, I was met face to face with human suffering like I have never before seen. I was deeply impacted. I did not know how to handle it.  As a teammate and I took care of a sick and elderly woman, my heart broke. Jesus spoke to me and reminded me of something I’d read in the Bible that morning: that He is a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53). This woman was suffering so much. I could see it, but I couldn’t fix it. But Jesus understood her. He knew what she was going through. I was deeply affected that day.

As we left the Mother Teresa home, I was in tears. I remembered John 11 and how Jesus wept when he was with Mary and Martha soon after the death of Lazarus. God spoke to my heart again: as you responded to the woman’s suffering, so I respond to the suffering of my children. I saw God’s heart in a new way: and saw how much He truly loves people and is moved by suffering. He doesn’t stand idly by…He cares! Our team is learning to respond to God as He shows us His heart for the people around us, and I am learning to be His friend and walk with Him in daily life here. God is giving me more of His heart for the lost, and I so desire to see the people of Kolkata come to Him.

Speaking of people coming to Jesus…on Sunday evening we worked with a rickshaw puller ministry (for men who pull rickshaws in Kolkata–the handcarts, like in the movie, City of Joy)…and 9 men showed up. We did a program for them and shared the gospel. All 9 of them were interested in the gospel (they came from Hindu or Muslim backgrounds), and for sure 5 of them gave their lives to Jesus! Please pray for these 5 men as they work so hard day after day: that God will work in their lives as they learn to follow Him, and that they will go to the new believer classes that the rickshaw puller ministry offers!

We have just 3 more full days in Kolkata, before we begin our journey to northwest Nepal. Please pray for us as we have some debriefing time tomorrow afternoon/evening (Friday) and think/talk about and process what God did these past 3 weeks in Kolkata.

Thanks!   Rachel.

Hello everyone. Below I have attached an outreach report from one of the DTS teams that we have on outreach. We staffed this school, but while they went on outreach, we prepared for (and are currently running) DTS Equip. We receive reports from the teams, so we thought we’d post a few every now and then for you to see what’s going on out there.

Below is a simple report from a typical ministry day, concluding with a very satisfying  …’beginning’.

Hello from Kolkata, India!

Last night we were having “team time” and a random guy (also staying at our Kolkata guest house) came into our room. His name is Jensen, and he is from the USA, and is volunteering at a Mother Teresa home. The door to our room was open, and he walked in. He thought we were just some people hanging out, and he wanted to hang out with people. He had brought his dinner and sat with us. I thought it was odd that he was there, but we invited him to stay for our team time. We had our Bible meditation/devotion, our worship time, and paired up and prayed for each other as we had just finished our first full week with two particular ministries. Jensen sat there and took it all in.

Afterward this, Mark, one of the students on our team, prompted by the Holy Spirit, went and sat next to Jensen and started talking with him. Mark shared the gospel with Jensen and kept talking about Jesus. Jensen came from a Catholic background/school, but did not know that Jesus died for all sin…and at the end of the conversation, Jensen accepted Jesus! So we are starting to see some fruit…we’ve been sowing seeds all week, working with two street children ministries, and then God gives us the opportunity to reach out to Jensen, and he accepts Jesus! We are excited to see one person get saved! Like the verse says: there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent. We are rejoicing, and we invite you to rejoice with us!

Please pray for Jensen as he is in Kolkata for 4 more weeks. We want to continue to build friendship with him, and for God to continue to work in his life. May God be glorified!

Rachel, for the India/Nepal outreach team