Our First Day of Ministry

You may have been wondering… “Are they ever going to stop playing around and actually start doing something?” The answer is “YES!” After a week spent in getting over jet lag, accustoming ourselves to the culture and food, and getting to know those we will be living/working with for the next months, we are bounding with energy for the work the Lord has sent us here for.

Today (Friday) was a very exciting day! It was our first day of ministry among the people. We left in the late morning for the slum area of the city where the rag pickers, thieves, and prostitutes of the city live with their families. A group of local ministries, including HBA (Hebron Believers Assembly), supports a school for the children of the “least of these.” Pastor David is on the board for this school, so we will be able to visit them frequently during the months we are here.

We had a wonderful time with them. We sung a few songs in English for them and they clapped, and smiled, along. Then we acted out the story of David and Goliath for them. I (Chelsea) was Goliath, and Bethany narrated the story and played the part of David. We had so much fun preparing for this special time. We then walked around a little and saw the place where the children play after school (a Hindu burial ground) and their homes. Everywhere we went, people came out of their homes to stare at us or greet us. We shook more hands than we could count as we walked. We must have looked so funny as we gestured and pointed, trying to make ourselves understood.

Afterwards, we came back and helped to serve the children a special treat, chicken curry, with their normal lunch of vegetable soup served over rice. The children were delighted that we came to sit with them and kept trying to get us to eat from their plates since we didn’t have our own. We did eat later, after we made sure they had had enough. Just before leaving, we handed out a final treat - bananas! They were so glad to receive them.

Serving Lunch

Bananas! Yum, yum!

Everyone was sorry to see us go, but we promised to come back again soon.

General Prayer Requests

- Learning the Language: Pastor David goes with us everywhere, but it would still be very nice to actually be able to speak some with our new friends ourselves.

- HBA Jeep: One of the reasons we have been staying so close to home the last week is because HBA’s Jeep has been in the shop for repairs. We have made the decision with Pastor David to start traveling around even before the repairs are finished, but the “autos” get expensive. Please pray that the repairs will be finished quickly.

Getting into an "auto"