Ashley wrote to share her experience of village worship. As Americans, we are sometimes the only foreign faces that the Indian villagers ever see. Combine that with the excitement of the New Year and quite a crowd gathers. We still share the gospel and pray with them but culture clash is sometimes a bit overwhelming even for a second time traveler.
"Last night our group traveled into a village where a church had been build by funds generated through VBS at Wyatt Park Christian Church to attend a worship service. This particular worship service was different from any other that I've been to in India. The audience was especially excited for our arrival and was growing more and more rowdy as the night went on. Upon arriving at the village we were met by lots of people all crowded into an allyway where the service would be held. The space was too small to accommodate seating for everyone so children began crawling up on roofs and walls so they could get a good look at us and see everything that was going on. People from the village continued to gather pushing as close to us as possible attempting to touch us and shake our hands and greet us. No matter how many hands we shook there were always more reaching out through the crowd so we were continually surrounded; it began to get extremely overwhelming. Seeing this, Henry immediately placed men from Good Shepherd who had accompanied us to the worship service behind where we were seated for the purpose of controling the crowd. Even as the numbers increased behind us they kept the curious villagers a safe distance away.
Soon after we arrived the sun went down and the allyway was lit completely by hanging strings of lights. The service carried on as always with lots of dancing and singing and noise and people. Suddenly without warning we lost electricity and were left sitting completely in the dark. It was impossible to see even the person next to us as we sat and waited for the lights to come back on.
It was unnerving to sit in the dark surrounded by a crowd we could not see, but I knew that we were safe because of the men from Good Shepherd who were keeping the crowd back and quickly working to fix the electrical problem. Within minutes the lights came back on and the service continued on as if nothing had happend!
I am extremly thankful to be hosted by such good people here. With everthing from food, to rest, to transportation to security we couldn't be better taken care of. "
Ashley Slawson
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life." ~John 8:12 NIV
About Good Shepherd Mission - India
- Good Shepherd Mission - WPCC
- In 1978 using their own home school teachers Henry Bahskar and his late wife Viola took in six poor school boys to live with them and created Good Shepherd Mission. The mission now has over 150 boys and girls in two different locations. In addition the mission has grown to include a General Hospital, daily medical clinics and dental services, immunization clinics, a home for seniors, and 15 rural village churches each staffed by an evangelist. All of the healthcare services are provided free of charge to the poorest of the poor of the area. The mission and it’s outreach depend on donations from people like you and me. Thirty dollars a month will sponsor a child, provide a cataract surgery, or support an evangelist. If you feel God tugging at your heart and encouraging you to help, you may make a tax-deductible donation to the Wyatt Park Christian Church, India Fund. The church guarantees that 100 percent of your gift goes directly to Good Shepherd Mission.