Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The Gift of Rice

A few days ago, I returned from Asia after Global Infusion’s first triple-country mission trip.  Part of the team began in Nepal, while the other part was in Thailand.  After our work was done in these countries, we converged on the country of India together - where even there we divided up to cover more ground.  I could go into tremendous detail about the impact our team made in three different nations, and how many hundreds of souls heard the Gospel, or were discipled, or received tangible donations from GI such as food — but I am compelled to focus on one story.

Take a look at this picture.  It is not a picture of starving, orphaned or disabled children of Andhra Pradesh, India.  It is not a shot of the bizarre, yet demonically possessed followers of Hinduism in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Nor is it a graphic X-rated photo of the hedonistic streets of Bangkok, Thailand.  You see, our team ministered in all of those places, and saw all of those things — we have those pictures, but this one is something completely different.  It is a gift.

Global Infusion rarely works in the major cities or capitals of the countries we go to.  We go where nobody else wants to go.  We reach the unreached.  There is a reason people are unreached with the Gospel — they are hard to get to, and it costs a lot of  time and money to physically get to them.  I took this picture in a remote village in India where many unreached people live.  There is a small church we worked with, and this is a picture of their weekly offering.   Since the parishioners have no money, they give what little they do have.  In this case, it is food.  This gift is also the “salary” for the Pastor for the week.  He has no other job, and no other funds coming in.  He has a wife, and two children, and has willingly moved to a desolate part of his own country to reach the unreached.  This is the type of person, place, and vision that Global Infusion regularly supports through teams, donations, and prayer.

Romans 5:6-8 says, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Jesus is the epitome of giving everything you have so others might live.  Many times I feel helpless as I stand in remote villages around the world, and see the needs of the people.  If only we had more finances to make their earthly existence bearable.  If only we had more teams to go into all the world.  I implore you to pray with us and for us, and ask God what you can do with Global Infusion in the coming year, as we continue to reach thousands of people every year with the Gospel, and also help to meet their physical needs.