Jayaseeli if you don’t remember is one of the YWAM leper colony doctors. About 3 days before my team and I left Chennai for Calcutta, Hayley and I did medical work once last time at the leper colony where Jayaseeli worked. The last time Jono and I were there about a week before, Moses, her son was extremely sick with Typhoid. He had an IV tube in his arm and was not doing well. His eyes were sad and he looked so forlorn and dead. We talked a little with him and his mother. He was starting a computer class for school in about a month and needed to get better. We prayed quickly over him before we went to lunch. Jayaseeli thanked us for the prayers and knew that they would help. When Hayley and ... read more

Towards the end of our time in Chennai, there was a couple that came to the YWAM Chennai base to teach. Their names were Greg and Deb Wiley. They had been in YWAM for 30 years and were currently living in North Carolina but had done ministry in India for many years before that. It was so refreshing and rejuvenating to listen to them speak and teach. We hadn’t had a lot of time where our India team had received spiritual food so we could therefore pour out more spiritual food. Well, we were leaving about a week for Calcutta (Kolkata), a spiritually dark city devoted to Kali the goddess of death and we needed to be strong. As I look back on that Tuesday Morning, I know that God brought Greg and Deb to minister ... read more

Language doesn’t matter, culture doesn’t matter, country doesn’t matter. When people know Jesus and follow him, worshipping and praying with others that don’t even speak the same language, knowing Christ can cut through all of those things that we call barriers. We dress differently from each other. Our cultures are so vastly different. But if you were to look at the hearts of our YWAM Minneapolis India team and the hearts of the Indians at the YWAM Chennai base, and other followers of Christ all around the world, we are all the same. “Same same, but different” as many of the Indians say. Knowing and loving Jesus as Lord and Savior I have seen can cut straight through those barriers. During many worship and prayer times in the YWAM Chennai base, Jesus was there with us ... read more

On one of our Saturday’s off, all of us took an hour bus ride to the Indian Ocean. It was such a beautiful day out, not to hot or cold and the sun was shining down upon us. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky! While we were there, I felt like a celebrity and I am sure everyone else did as well. So many Indians were looking at us because we were white. They wanted to shake our hands and take pictures with us. Eventually, after all the handshakes, Nate joked that we should start charging 5 Rs. (Rupees) per handshake. He actually said it to some Indians that came up to him to shake his hand. They looked at him in disbelief! I can imagine why. Just think if celebrities here started doing charging, ... read more

…is our God, sing with me how great, how great is our God.” Those are the beautiful words I heard at Little Lights Childrens’ home two weeks into outreach. While Jono, Kelsie, and I were ironing the school uniforms, the little voices raised that praise to the Lord. It was about 10:30 in the morning and the children were not at school. That is because the festival of harvest was happening (Pongal). It is a Hindu festival that is celebrated all over the world. Instead of participating in it, the future YWAMers were upstairs praying, praising, and learning. After singing praise songs, both common English ones but also Tamil worship, the children and some of the female staff: Daisy, Sathya, Kathra, and Gladia, laid hands on each other and started praying fervently over each other in ... read more