Yesterday was a packed day. Pastor Ashish came to lead me and three girls into the red-light district here in Mumbai. We said a quick prayer, and headed out. We arrived and followed the pastor through the slum areas to where the prostitutes were working. I didn't know what to expect, I had a very brief orientation to the redlight district. We walked a few hundred yards into the slums and then I saw them. Lined up were about 25 young women, some looked to be 15 years old. They all wore bright red lipstick, this is what set them apart as prostitutes. He walked through them and ducked into the narrow alley behind them. We followed close behind. After a short walk down the narrow alley we came to an open spot between the shacks where a blanket was spread on the dirt floor and several men and women sat playing cards. He spoke to them in Hindi, shook their hands, and then turned and led us through a maze of back-alleys. As we stepped over the holes filled with sewage and over the trash, trying not to touch the walls that closed in on us on both sides, I began a simple prayer....
"Just one today Lord....thats all I ask....I want to see at least one soul added to the Kingdom today....please...."
We made our exit from the back-alleys and into the open streets of the slums again. We followed Pastor Ashish to a shack where a woman sat crouching down washing clothes in a bucket. She stood up when she saw us approach and greeted the pastor warmly. After shaking our hands she turned and motioned for us to come in. I kicked off my sandles and ducked into the little house, we all sat and Pastor Ashish spoke to her for a few minutes telling her who we were. We sat silently, not knowing anything about this woman or why she greeted the pastor so warmly. After a while he told us that she had come to know the Lord six years ago. She used to be a prostitute also, but when she was saved she gave this up. She put her children in a christian school and never went back to prostitution. We shared with her a little bit about our testimonies. She got up and left and came back with cold drinks for us all, by the look of the shack we sat in I knew this was a sacrifice. She told us that her 12 year old daughter spoke fluent English and would be home shortly. When her children came home we sang some songs and had a good time of fellowship with them. From there we went to another house to pray for some other people. As we popped back onto the street we made our way back to where we first saw the prostitutes.
On the way a man called the pastor's name and we stopped. While he spoke to the man some prostitutes came walking up to where we were. They didn't speak English, but were interested in the three girls I brought with me. They smiled at them and shook their hands. As me and the pastor finished talking to the man and the boys that had gathered we turned and he translated for the girls. After a few minutes one of my girls asked if she could pray for one of them....the girl let her. Then, one by one, they all sat down as my girls prayed for them. No salvations, but they appreciated the prayers. We said goob-bye and continued. When we reached the area where we had first seen the red lipstick we ducked down the alley and went to the blanket where they sat playing cards. We didn't know who they were, but they seemed to have built some kind of relationship with the pastor. Moments later we all filed into one of the makeshift houses and they all followed us in. We were told we could sing one song, and then I had an opportunity to speak for a few minutes. I spoke about how God provides a way out when He invites us to follow Him, He always meets our needs when He calls us to Himself and His will for our life. After Pastor Ashish translated for me, he said we could pray. There was only one man in the "house". I laid hands on him as I prayed. Afterwards we all went outside and took a seat. One of the women, who seemed to have some kind of authority brought out cold beverages for us. The man I touched while I prayed walked up to me and Pastor Ashish and told him that he wanted me to pray for him, to pray for healing because he had asthma. The Pastor told the girls to talk with the women on the blanket, one of them spoke English. We sat down with the man and continued talking, I spoke of stories of healing to build the man's faith. After a minute of translating, the man said something and the pastor looked at me and said,
"Stay with me a moment, I am going into Hindi for a while to witness to this man."
I started praying in the Spirit. The man's eyes were moist. I didnt know what the pastor was saying, but something was taking place. A few minutes later the man held out his hands, palm up, and bowed his head. We held his hands and the pastor walked him through the sinner's prayer. After we prayed for his healing, the pastor started speaking to the women. They pointed to a building next to them which stood out. It was concrete and two stories high. We walked up to the second level and entered on of the rooms. Fresh paint was still on the walls.
"Okay, let me tell you why I brought you here, I wanted to get you out of their hearing range. All of those people down there are pimps. The man we prayed for was a pimp, the women who brought the drinks, all of them. They manage the girls we walked past. They are building these rooms for 'business'. I want us to walk through these rooms and declare them for the Kingdom."
He continued talking to us about all that was happening and I just stood there in amazement. We were totally clueless as to what was actually taking place that day. The man surrendering his life to Christ, praying for them all, them bringing us drinks....all of it, to pimps and prostitutes in the heart of the redlight district. Unbelievable. We walked through the rooms praying. When we finished and were about to leave, the head lady who was in charge came to us and had us enter one of the rooms. She said something to one of the girls who darted off after receiving some instructions. She said something else to one of the men who also turned and walked off. A few moments later the man returned with chairs, and the girl had sent a little boy in with 6 cups of chai tea. We sat there and talked as we sipped our tea....we had done our work well, and left having accomplished something.
Let me tell you all, always pray with faith, and never think you have to have elaborate, long, detailed, well thought out prayers. The Lord knows what is in your heart before you even say it. He answered my simple prayer:
"Just one today Lord....thats all I ask....I want to see at least one soul added to the Kingdom today....please...."
We got a ride back to the hostile and the pastor asked to use the bathroom in my room. He walked out, "Hmm, you guys not have any water?". I smiled. "It comes and goes, you never know when to expect it". He said goodbye and left. I sat on my bed going over what happened that day and then met up with the group to go to dinner. We ate with a mission team from Germany and then came home. I began to walk up the stairs when I noticed it looked like it had rained.....inside.....
As I got to the second floor I saw several men standing at the door with mops and big squeegees....The door was wide open. I walked in and there were more men, mopping the floor. My suitcase had been moved to a chair, and all of my books that were on the floor were soaking wet and lying open under a fan. I smiled, not knowing what had happened.
"Tap...tap was on" one of the men laughed as he pointed to the bathroom.
One of the girls who had stayed behind told me that someone had left the tap on in the bathroom and it flooded the whole room with 3 inches of water. It had tile floors and baseboards, so there was no damage, save my personal belongings. The men finished up as I looked to see what had been ruined. My suitcase was soaked, along with all the clothes in it, but they would dry. I looked at the books to see which ones had been safe and which ones had be ruined. The books on the floor were the ones I had read the night before, the ones on the bed were the ones I had read that morning.....this was the determining factor to see which ones were wet and which ones were dry. Books that were ruined:
1. The Message Bible
2. The Complete Evangelism Handbook
3. My Upmost for His Highest
4. The journal I had kept during my first three months overseas.
5. The Screwtape Letters
I took a hairdryer to the journal and it turned out okay, It has a leather cover which prevented the water from completely reaching all the pages. The other books are goners.
Two Bibles (NISB and NKJV), my journal from the second half of my outreach here, another book I am halfway done reading, and my guitar survived the flood. I began pulling the clothes out of my suitcase so I could set them out to dry. This is when I saw the white cord to a pair of headphones....."Lord...no..."...I pulled them and sure enough, on the other end of the cord was the 80GB iPod my brother bought for me before I left. I just smiled....i couldn't believe I smiled....I went and plugged it in and tried to turn it on....nothing. Its gone. My teammates seem to be having more of a hard time with my loss than I am. I can't be upset, or even disappointed. I am seeing God do amazing things here, and if I lose my laptop to a freak electrical surge and my iPod to a flood, so be it, I would gladly give it all to reach these people. Im sure I can get the iPod replaced when I get home. It is probably under warranty.
Cost of a laptop: $500-$1500
80GB iPod: $350
Four books: $100
Seeing a pimp surrender his life to the Lord: Priceless.
Oh yeah....I know everyone is wondering who left the tap on right? Pastor Ashish. lol! Oh well. He didn't know.
"Just one today Lord....thats all I ask....I want to see at least one soul added to the Kingdom today....please...."
We made our exit from the back-alleys and into the open streets of the slums again. We followed Pastor Ashish to a shack where a woman sat crouching down washing clothes in a bucket. She stood up when she saw us approach and greeted the pastor warmly. After shaking our hands she turned and motioned for us to come in. I kicked off my sandles and ducked into the little house, we all sat and Pastor Ashish spoke to her for a few minutes telling her who we were. We sat silently, not knowing anything about this woman or why she greeted the pastor so warmly. After a while he told us that she had come to know the Lord six years ago. She used to be a prostitute also, but when she was saved she gave this up. She put her children in a christian school and never went back to prostitution. We shared with her a little bit about our testimonies. She got up and left and came back with cold drinks for us all, by the look of the shack we sat in I knew this was a sacrifice. She told us that her 12 year old daughter spoke fluent English and would be home shortly. When her children came home we sang some songs and had a good time of fellowship with them. From there we went to another house to pray for some other people. As we popped back onto the street we made our way back to where we first saw the prostitutes.
On the way a man called the pastor's name and we stopped. While he spoke to the man some prostitutes came walking up to where we were. They didn't speak English, but were interested in the three girls I brought with me. They smiled at them and shook their hands. As me and the pastor finished talking to the man and the boys that had gathered we turned and he translated for the girls. After a few minutes one of my girls asked if she could pray for one of them....the girl let her. Then, one by one, they all sat down as my girls prayed for them. No salvations, but they appreciated the prayers. We said goob-bye and continued. When we reached the area where we had first seen the red lipstick we ducked down the alley and went to the blanket where they sat playing cards. We didn't know who they were, but they seemed to have built some kind of relationship with the pastor. Moments later we all filed into one of the makeshift houses and they all followed us in. We were told we could sing one song, and then I had an opportunity to speak for a few minutes. I spoke about how God provides a way out when He invites us to follow Him, He always meets our needs when He calls us to Himself and His will for our life. After Pastor Ashish translated for me, he said we could pray. There was only one man in the "house". I laid hands on him as I prayed. Afterwards we all went outside and took a seat. One of the women, who seemed to have some kind of authority brought out cold beverages for us. The man I touched while I prayed walked up to me and Pastor Ashish and told him that he wanted me to pray for him, to pray for healing because he had asthma. The Pastor told the girls to talk with the women on the blanket, one of them spoke English. We sat down with the man and continued talking, I spoke of stories of healing to build the man's faith. After a minute of translating, the man said something and the pastor looked at me and said,
"Stay with me a moment, I am going into Hindi for a while to witness to this man."
I started praying in the Spirit. The man's eyes were moist. I didnt know what the pastor was saying, but something was taking place. A few minutes later the man held out his hands, palm up, and bowed his head. We held his hands and the pastor walked him through the sinner's prayer. After we prayed for his healing, the pastor started speaking to the women. They pointed to a building next to them which stood out. It was concrete and two stories high. We walked up to the second level and entered on of the rooms. Fresh paint was still on the walls.
"Okay, let me tell you why I brought you here, I wanted to get you out of their hearing range. All of those people down there are pimps. The man we prayed for was a pimp, the women who brought the drinks, all of them. They manage the girls we walked past. They are building these rooms for 'business'. I want us to walk through these rooms and declare them for the Kingdom."
He continued talking to us about all that was happening and I just stood there in amazement. We were totally clueless as to what was actually taking place that day. The man surrendering his life to Christ, praying for them all, them bringing us drinks....all of it, to pimps and prostitutes in the heart of the redlight district. Unbelievable. We walked through the rooms praying. When we finished and were about to leave, the head lady who was in charge came to us and had us enter one of the rooms. She said something to one of the girls who darted off after receiving some instructions. She said something else to one of the men who also turned and walked off. A few moments later the man returned with chairs, and the girl had sent a little boy in with 6 cups of chai tea. We sat there and talked as we sipped our tea....we had done our work well, and left having accomplished something.
Let me tell you all, always pray with faith, and never think you have to have elaborate, long, detailed, well thought out prayers. The Lord knows what is in your heart before you even say it. He answered my simple prayer:
"Just one today Lord....thats all I ask....I want to see at least one soul added to the Kingdom today....please...."
We got a ride back to the hostile and the pastor asked to use the bathroom in my room. He walked out, "Hmm, you guys not have any water?". I smiled. "It comes and goes, you never know when to expect it". He said goodbye and left. I sat on my bed going over what happened that day and then met up with the group to go to dinner. We ate with a mission team from Germany and then came home. I began to walk up the stairs when I noticed it looked like it had rained.....inside.....
As I got to the second floor I saw several men standing at the door with mops and big squeegees....The door was wide open. I walked in and there were more men, mopping the floor. My suitcase had been moved to a chair, and all of my books that were on the floor were soaking wet and lying open under a fan. I smiled, not knowing what had happened.
"Tap...tap was on" one of the men laughed as he pointed to the bathroom.
One of the girls who had stayed behind told me that someone had left the tap on in the bathroom and it flooded the whole room with 3 inches of water. It had tile floors and baseboards, so there was no damage, save my personal belongings. The men finished up as I looked to see what had been ruined. My suitcase was soaked, along with all the clothes in it, but they would dry. I looked at the books to see which ones had been safe and which ones had be ruined. The books on the floor were the ones I had read the night before, the ones on the bed were the ones I had read that morning.....this was the determining factor to see which ones were wet and which ones were dry. Books that were ruined:
1. The Message Bible
2. The Complete Evangelism Handbook
3. My Upmost for His Highest
4. The journal I had kept during my first three months overseas.
5. The Screwtape Letters
I took a hairdryer to the journal and it turned out okay, It has a leather cover which prevented the water from completely reaching all the pages. The other books are goners.
Two Bibles (NISB and NKJV), my journal from the second half of my outreach here, another book I am halfway done reading, and my guitar survived the flood. I began pulling the clothes out of my suitcase so I could set them out to dry. This is when I saw the white cord to a pair of headphones....."Lord...no..."...I pulled them and sure enough, on the other end of the cord was the 80GB iPod my brother bought for me before I left. I just smiled....i couldn't believe I smiled....I went and plugged it in and tried to turn it on....nothing. Its gone. My teammates seem to be having more of a hard time with my loss than I am. I can't be upset, or even disappointed. I am seeing God do amazing things here, and if I lose my laptop to a freak electrical surge and my iPod to a flood, so be it, I would gladly give it all to reach these people. Im sure I can get the iPod replaced when I get home. It is probably under warranty.
Cost of a laptop: $500-$1500
80GB iPod: $350
Four books: $100
Seeing a pimp surrender his life to the Lord: Priceless.
Oh yeah....I know everyone is wondering who left the tap on right? Pastor Ashish. lol! Oh well. He didn't know.
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