I came back from spending 2 weeks in India during January 2003 extremely humbled, so inspired, and to my surprise much refreshed. I have been to many countries but never have I seen such a mass of people. The constant noise and business of the place was something I have never experienced and for the first time in my life helped me grasp the reality of a God who never sleeps because the street outside my hotel room never slept.

Part of what made this trip so special for me was spending time with Christians who have an incredibly simple faith. Maybe it is because they don’t have all the material distractions that we do, or maybe there are other reasons, but when the Christians I met in India read the Bible they accept what it says so simply and don’t spend time dissecting it and over analysing it. As a result they are seeing regular miracles and healings and workings of God.

We met people who are physically beaten for their faith in Jesus and others who live in shacks the size of sheds with no clean running water. Each night as I went to bed in my clean hotel room I looked out my window and saw two young boys settle down for the night, they slept outside in a dark alley with nothing but a dirty blanket to protect them from the bugs and rats that were scurrying around them. I struggled to sleep with the awareness that I have come to their country as a visitor and get to lie down in a clean room with air-conditioning and a soft mattress. They have nothing. What have I done to deserve this, nothing except be born in Britain. I was strongly reminded that everything I have is a gift from God and to whom much has been given much will be required.

The Christians we met were so full of life and love for Jesus. One boy told us how when he comes home from school he gets alone with his Saviour and spends 3 hours a day in prayer before going out to play with his friends. We met others whose full time job it is to intercede and pray all day every day. I came home having learned so much from my Christian brothers and sisters in India. The trip reminded me so much of the global family of God and how we need each other all over the world. Our very being there blessed the Indians no end even though we felt we had so little to give them, and we too were blessed beyond description by what we saw and experienced through them. It is so true that we need each other more than we think – if for nothing else just to give us a right perspective on what we have in God and what God has given us through his Grace.

Matthew Kerr.
 

Our trip to Mumbai to visit Rani and Gabriel, Mr and Mrs Thasia and their family and helpers was a marvellous opportunity for fellowship and encouragement for Matthew, David and I.

I was particularly struck by the level of commitment among the believers, working in the most adverse conditions of heat, poverty, persecution and that enemy of all human progress the intransigent bureaucracy. They never give up but continue to push on through with the vision God has given them.

India is one of the most culturally fascinating countries I have visited. There was no time to be bored while waiting for appointments to be kept. Just lean out of the hotel window and gaze at the street life. Time passes effortlessly by as you are drawn into the kaleidoscope of life.

Finally, the challenge of lives lived out of a willingness to meet the needs of unwanted children and spread the message of the hope of the gospel amongst some of the most needy people in our world.

Andy Holt-Brook
 

Our visit to Bombay in January 2003 evokes many memories but I want to focus on one aspect of the trip.
When Jane (my eldest daughter) and I went to visit the friends of B.R.P.B. in October 98, it was a time of transition for us. The fellowship of believers, which we had been part of had recently ceased to be and so we had not as yet become integrated into another Church. So when we left to go to India on 28th October 1998, we went alone. Apart from our immediate family, there was no send-off, no support structure and no accountability to other believers.
My departure to Bombay, in January 2003 couldn’t have been more different. By this time I was part of ECF. Every aspect of this trip had been shared and discussed with Jamie (our Pastor). This time, I was going out as part of a team representing the Church and on behalf of the Church.
I will never forget the Saturday evening of the night before Andy, Matthew and I left to go to India. A special time of prayer had been called for any who wished to pray God’s blessing on us prior to our departure. Seventeen brothers and sisters came to lay hands on us and wish us “God’ Speed”.
In addition to this amazing sign of support and being part of something, there was that happy sense of accountability. Sometimes people see accountability as a rather limiting and restrictive thing. I’ve got to say on this occasion, I counted it a joy and a privilege.
And so often when we were “out there” we were aware of the support back home and looked forward with eager anticipation to returning sharing of all we had seen and heard.
It has been said, “no man is an island unto himself”. I think this is especially true of Church.

Dr David Malcolm