Day 122, Mumbai

I had a pretty interesting week. I have a limited time here in this internet cafe so I'll just post some highlights.

There was some kind of power surge or something while we were out and it fried my laptop....
I had my laptop with me because I am in charge of all our finances. So I lost everything on the computer, I sent a record of our accounting books in an e-mail a few weeks ago, so we are able to keep them, but the past couple of weeks accounting books are gone. Not to mention the 150+ list of foods I want to eat when I come home. I had been making it since I left home, all the food I have been missing out on. I'll schedule a time for a good cry later

The past four days have been amazing. We have been working with Delirious, Joyce Meyers, Brian Houston, and Hillsong at the "Festival of Life" here in Mumbai. We began at 6:00am and stepped off the train back home at around midnight...we did this for four days. We're worn out.

Two Knights at War

Here is an amazing story I found myself in this week. After 16 hours out in the heat at the festival, I was standing in line at the train station waiting to buy tickets for my team. One of the Indian guys had already taken them to the platform and I was alone. A young guy behind me recognized that I was from the festival and asked if I was only here to work with Joyce Meyers and Hillsong or if I was living in Mumbai. I was tired, hot, worn out, and didnt feel like talking. I answered him and looked at the 50+ people in line up ahead. I knew this would take a while. For the next 15 minutes his questions didnt stop. Question after question. I didnt get mad, but I was glad to walk away after I got the tickets. I found the team and the train squeeled up into the station. Here in Mumbai, the trains only stop for 10 seconds at each stop. During this time about 20 people move out each door, and 20 more people rush in. The door is about 4 feet wide....it is a mess! People push and shove and crawl their way into the train. Inside you have no room at all, you are PACKED in.

I was with two Indian guys who were missionaries here. The girls went to the girl's part of the train. After the people piled out I squeezed my way into the train and found out that the other two men had to go to other parts of the train to get in. I was alone again, and now I was sandwiched into this train....I was okay, I would just try to stand there and not let it bother me, I was too tired to care anyways.

"Where do you get off", the man behind me said in pretty good English.
"CBD"
"Thats over an hour away, you should try to push your way further in and wait for a seat."

I knew that, I was just too tired to deal with trying to squeeze past the million people to find a place to wait for a seat.

"Where are you from?" He asked

Not again! You gotta be kidding me! I knew I was going to be stuck on a train with another talkative Indian for the next hour. Lord, what are you doing?! I turned around to see the man. He was a little shorter than me, in his late twenties, clean cut, nice dress pants and button up shirt. He carried a laptop bag. I was a little caught off guard. You dont see people like that here. Most of them dont wear shoes, and rarely have anything resembling nice clothes. I told him where I was from. After five minutes I was a little bugged that he kept talking to me. He found out I was a Christian. Here is where I found out that he was also a missionary....an Islamic missionary. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, stuck on a train in the middle of India with a Muslim missionary....alone. I had no one to help me. I just looked the other way long enough to voice a prayer.

"Lord....just help...I dont know what to do"

I felt something change in me. The train stopped at a station and10 more people piled in, slamming me up against the wall at people shoved past me....this time I smiled. For some reason my attitude had changed. Now I was happy to answer his question, and now we were talking about religion.... Two knights....I was fighting for the Kingdom of Heaven, he was fighting for the prince of this world. He was very well educated. I could tell he had had these conversations before....I had never spoken to a Muslim about the Gospel before....I was completely uneducated in this situation. Halfway through the conversation I was met with questions that I answered....that I didn't know the answer to before that moment. I realized my mouth was being filled by the Holy Spirit. As I spoke to him about the love of Christ, sin, and Jesus' role as our Savior I looked up to see 8 or more men had formed a circle around us and were listening to our conversation. The goosebumps went wild. What was happening?! How is this possible? I didnt know what I was doing! But God knew what He was doing, and He was doing it through me. As I spoke of His love I placed my hand on his chest, and looked up to see the man next to him watching, so I did the same to him. His face lit up, he introduced himself and asked what my name was. Something in the Islamic missionary was confused, he had never seen anyone act like that im sure. Our stop came up...he had two more stops to go, but he got off anyway. He wanted to meet my team. I introduced him to the team, and we really had to rush to get into the hostel before it closed. He asked for my e-mail address and gave me his number.

I wouldn't believe what had just happened. Through the Holy Spirit I had held my own again a very well educated Islamic missionary....unbelievable.

I rushed into my room to get out a book on evangelising to Muslims and found out that everything that had happened, the smiling, the touching, the answers I gave, EVERYTHING was done perfectly to reach Muslims in the best way! I could not believe it. I seriously just couldn't believe it. Well, I have to go, this place is closing.