Young men on the trail

We passed these young men on the way out. Although they were interested in talking with us, they seemed very uninterested in the message we were sharing. Pray that they will see the emptiness of the religion that they claim and that they discover the truth and surrender their lives to it.

Amrit

Amrit was a translator for my team on two different occasions. He was very personable and animated and a joy to serve iwth. There were so many times when I wished I could understand the words he was passionately communicating to his native people. My hope is that they were as enthralled as I was, and that God opened their hearts and minds so they could understand the importance of his message.

Amrit and his wife both felt the call to lave their jobs so they'd be able to serve full time. They hand make cards to help meet their day-to-day needs so they can do this. Some of his cards are available to be purchased in the missions office at Living Hope. You can also contact me if you'd like to place an order.

* Pray for their needs to be met.

* Pray for the health of their family.

* Pray for protection from the enemy.

Short visits on the way out

On the way out, we were able to do some quick hellos and hand out materials to those we passed. Here are a couple of pictures:

* Pray that our brief encounter sparked the curiosity of these families toward the materials we left them.
* Pray that God would reveal their need for a Savior to them.
* Pray that they will search the materials for guidance.

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.