A Grieving Mom

Our next visit was with a grandmother and her beautiful granddaughters. I was perplexed over how she brushed off my comments on how beautiful the girls were. We spent some time playing with the girls and then we settled in for conversation with the grandmother. She immediately began crying and sharing with us about how her son had died a year ago. She was now caring for his children, and it saddened my heart to realize that because of her intense pain, these children were causing her pain instead of comfort.

She pointed to pictures of gods that were hanging outside her house. She talked of how her son had purchased these, but that they had been unable to help him. It was heartbreaking to see her grieving as if he had just died, even though it had been a year.

We shared with her that our God understands that pain of losing a son, and that He is the One who can begin to heal her heart. We shared that not only did God experience the loss of a son, but that He chose to give up His son, so that we could be forgiven of our sins and live with Him forever.

When we were done sharing, we asked if we could pray for her right then. Our translator said that she was afraid for us to pray because of past experiences with witchdoctors. Our team silently prayed for her as our translator continued to talk with her and offer her comfort.

My heart remains heavy for this grieving mother. Please pray that she will open her heart to allow God to cleanse her from her sin and heal her broken heart. Pray that she will be able to love and comfort her son's children and not push them away. Pray that this will be a family that will stand on the hope of Christ. Pray that she will realize that our God is unlike those powerless gods that her family has placed their hope in.

Meeting a very religious man

Our first visit was at this man's house. He scurried right across those boards you see and invited us to follow. We were a bit hesitant. The second board was unstable, which meant we had the board and a water buffalo waiting below.

I was the first to head out. It was a definite tight squeeze. Since one of my teammate's shoulders were wider than both boards, it was decided that this was not the way to cross. I didn't know there was another way to get up, so I decided to head back. Because of my backpack, I could not even turn around! I had to carefully walk backwards to get back to solid ground.

I laughed when I realized there was a stairwell and that the team as a whole would be upstairs, so I could have just continued on with my journey on the plank!

The inside of the man's house was very neat and organized. He had lots of books that we were told were on various religions. There were also pictures of various gods. Here is one of them:

We began sharing with the man, but the conversation quickly became an animated discussion on religion between the man and our interpreter. We felt like we were at a tennis match trying to keep up with who was talking.

Please pray that this man's passion for study will continually send him back to God's word, and that His eyes will be opened to the truth of the gospel.

Pray that he will rid his home of all of the false gods and idols.

Last Day of Hiking

Our last day of hiking, we covered the area near where we stayed, which meant no bus ride on the curvy roads! Praise God!

We were able to hike along with another team for a good bit of the way. Almost all were people that I had not previously been on a team with, which afforded me the opportunity to better get to know them and watch them do ministry. It's always amazing to see how God uses and equips different people.

Not far onto the trail, we encountered these girls heading to school.

Please pray for safety for these children as they travel the mountain to and from school. Pray that someone will enter their life that will not only teach worldly knowledge, but teach them about the love of Christ.

Our path was a steep decline. I became concerned about coming back up as we passed Indians that were out of breath with the climb even when they were not carrying a load. They are way more in shape and used to these mountains than we were! Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I expected on the way back up!

At this point, I want to introduce you to Prem. I was never on a team where he served as a translator, but I feel I have known Prem for years because of his help to Jeff when he first went to India to scout out the area in preparation for future trips.

Prem has a smile and cheerful demeanor that is not easily forgotten! He is a taxi driver and has proved invaluable to the nationals working in India.

Prem and his family and the Burnhams

Pray that Prem will be able to travel safely and avoid accidents on those crazy Indian roads.

Pray for the health of his family.

Pray that Prem's occupation will open many doors for Prem to share the gospel. Pray that he will share clearly and boldly. Pray for protection from those who oppose the gospel.

Amazed by generosity

After our last visit, it was straight uphill to get out. I'd had the late night the night before at the home where we showed the Jesus Film, and I was unable to sleep that night (I had not slept well at all on the entire trip). That combined with the hike combined with the emotion of the day left my energy completely bottomed out. As I struggled on the way out, we passed a man that was coming down the mountain to his home. He was carrying X-rays from a doctor's visit he had just had for a lung problem. I tried to imagine walking up that steep mountain being truly sick (a lung issue no less) to get to a taxi to take me to the doctor. He stopped and visited a bit with us. He asked us if we liked ginger. He said if we would meet him tomorrow morning at 7:30, he would walk back up and bring us some ginger! We were very touched by his generosity.

Please pray that he was healed of his sickness and that he will be able to recognize that God is the true healer.

Pray that he read/listened to the materials that we gave him.

Pray that he will allow God to use his generous spirit to further His kingdom.

Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of him, but I know the man really touched my heart.

We made it out! We had a beautiful view as we waited for the bus to return for us.

Here are some goats we watched grazing on the roadside.

Hard to stay serious!

We passed one more house and sent a "delegation" of three to extend our greetings since we didn't have time to visit. However, the man was extremely insistent and set out a blanket and had the chai put on anyway. We received clearance from our leaders and transportation and headed down for what turned out to be quite an interesting visit.

Indians keep their livestock tied directly to their house. This house was on a very steep slope of the mountain and there was quite a small space between the house and fence that divided the garden from the sitting area considering we had livestock and our blanket squeezed in. This meant that the rear end of the cow was inches from where we were sitting on the blanket. I so wish I had on film Jennifer's reaction as she turned around and saw how close she was to the swishing (and lifting) tail behind us! This started the first giggle fest. Thankfully the lifting tail was for flies and not something else!

While the gospel was being shared, someone was passing gas very loudly. The boys were accusing each other and I thought the poor baby inside had just exploded. After several repeat performances, we realized it was the big black goat sitting near us. With that and kids running around playing loudly, it was hard to stay focused on what was being shared and not become a distraction ourselves.

My prayers were divided between asking that the man be responsive to what he was hearing, that we could stop laughing and stay focused, and that I would be able to get my chai down (this was the home where a child had kicked my cup over and the man poured what he had been drinking into my cup). That last prayer was answered in my favor as my teammate Heath switched cups with me after his was empty...he automatically became a hero!

Please pray that this man will continue to process what was shared. He listened, but did not seem very open to what he heard. Pray that the children and daughter-in-law overheard what was being said and that their hearts would be fertile soil for the seeds of the gospel.

Pray that this family stays healthy. Dirt floors in the home and a dirt yard and livestock so close just seem like an invitation for germs.