Lessons from India--A Time and a Place

Sometimes it's just the perfect timing.
Pastors plan.

A pastor's wife joins.
Teenaged girls come.
Women travel in all their finery. (This is the same all over the world!) The praise of Jesus' name begins!

A women's conference is held, and who knows how far the effects will reach?

Our first Treasured conference was held in Siliguri, a town that we later learned is considered a gateway city. It is less than 100 miles from four other nations--China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

After the conference, we were stunned to learn that a Nepali pastor's wife had attended. She and her husband were weary. They had been beaten down by persecution and were exhausted by the demands of ministry. Our team listened with tear-filled eyes as we heard that this woman had gone home refreshed, re-energized and re-filled with love and devotion for Jesus. She was ready to face the harsh realities of her life and serve Him whole-heartedly again.

What difference does our obedience make? Knowing our proximity to 4 nations and our location in a fifth, seeing the faces of women ready to charge into their worlds with the name of Jesus on their lips and His love in their hearts, hearing the passionate praise and worship of their Creator and Father made me know with wonder that obedience could truly be world-changing this time.

You may be like me and think that every day decisions of obedience often don't count for much, but my time in Siliguri convinced me otherwise. We're in a time and place specially designed for our acts of obedience. If those acts come out of our overflowing love for Jesus, there's no end to the ripple effects that our one little act may start. Even nations could be changed.