Praying for Encounters in India

The flights from ATL to Hyderabad, India were long and grueling. But not without a divine opportunity. On one of the legs I sat next to Terrence - retired from the Army having served on the ground in Mogadishu during the "Black Hawk Down" days. He was shot once there. He served again for 3 years in the latest war for the liberation of Iraq. He was shot again there. Terrence recently retired from the Army and joined the Dept. of Defense and was on his way back to Bagdad as a translator. As I talked with him I learned that he was raised by a father who converted to Islam during his own military service stationed in Egypt. His mother is the daughter of a Baptist minister in Miami, FL. Interesting life, no doubt. Terrence considered himself a Muslim, although he affirmed that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to save the world. Where Terrence stopped short however was that he said that although Jesus is the atoning sacrifice of God, that it is not necessary to become his "follower", but to believe is enough. So I sat for 9 hours next to a Muslim that believes in Jesus but sees no need to follow him. Where do you go with that? Needless to say I spent much of the time listening to him and responding to questions. I'd love to say that Terrence surrendered to Jesus before leaving the plane, but that's not what happened. Instead, today he's walking the streets of one of the most dangerous cities on the planet having heard the Truth of the necessity of surrender to Jesus, and yet choosing not to. Please pray for Terrence, that something I shared with him would stick and that the Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance our conversations and that he would repent and put his faith in Jesus alone.

After meeting more e3 folks in Frankfurt we headed on for Hyderabad. We arrived around midnight Saturday to a welcoming committee who placed flower garlands around our necks. These dear saints are members of the Banjara Baptist Fellowship and part of our team will be working with them in gypsy villages this week. We got up yesterday and headed to the airport supposedly to catch a flight to Nagpur to meet with our national director. That flight was cancelled and so we've been hold up in our hotel up to now waiting on Dani to come here instead. Pray that we find our purpose in this change of plans that God ordained. Pray for our training as it begins later tomorrow. May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified among the peoples of this city.