Not the most politically correct start to a blog but a correct statement in any case: today the temperature hit a thermometer busting 101 degrees, but 110 degrees on the heat index (that’s when humidity is taken into account). It is too hot to do anything in the afternoon other than sit in the cool until the sun goes down.
In spite of the debilitating heat (which is due to hit 105 by the weekend) we were ferried off to see yet another project and I have to say this is getting a little monotonous. It has been exciting to see the amazing work being done here in the name of Christ and the tremendous harvest that is taking place, but you can only hear the same story three or four times over for it to get a little tired. My observation is that many were feeling the same today as several eyes started to close and heads started to nod as we sat and listened in a small apartment in Kolkata.
Pastor Asis, Pastor Sutil and Stuart Murray-Williams
Nevertheless there is always a different spin on the story as I experienced today listening to Pastor Sutil, head of Concern and Compassion, a church planting and children’s ministry. Concern and Compassion’s model is to hold a medical camp in a village, to which clinicians donate their time, deal with the physical needs of people in the name of Christ, and then send in a small team of evangelists to live for a while amongst the people making relationships and sharing the good news. This model came about as a result of Pastor Sutil’s own experience when visiting a village early in his ministry: He met a pregnant woman as he got off of the boat, that woman was in labour and had been waiting for the boat for some time, what faced her was a 2 hour boat journey back to the mainland and then an hour by road to the hospital. Sutil prayed for God to help the people of the islands - of which there are over a hundred in this area – even praying for one of his children to study as a doctor so that he could dedicate them to the area. And that is what struck me, to be willing to dedicate a child to the work of God. Although I guess this is cultural – you are expected to listen to your parents and do what they tell you – it also felt very spiritual and biblical. It reminded of me of Hannah who in her joy and to give thanks at the birth of her son, Samuel, gave him to the temple where he would live and serve God always (1 Samuel 1:22). The faith of Sutil is an example of the faith of the Christians of India; he wanted to help the island people so much, he demonstrated the love of Christ so perfectly, that he would give up a child to serve God in this way. The heat may be debilitating, but the faith is inspiring.
Pastors from the Concern & Compassion Team
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