India Recap #4

1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

On New Year's Eve, the church held an excellent worship service and youth event. Our team arrived at the church at 7:00 pm along with our Chinese friend from the hotel.

Before the service started, five individuals were baptized. Being a Christian in India usually involves immense sacrifice. While it is not technically illegal according to the Indian government, it often means social persecution for those who follow Christ. One couple who were baptized on New Years Eve shared their story with Liz and I. The husband came from a family in the Brahmin cast, considered the priests of the Hindu religion. He is the only member of his family to become a Christian and essentially had to walk away from everyone important in his life in in order to do so. The unrest towards Christians was evident during the baptisms also, as the pastor asked that people do not post photos to social media in order to protect the new Christians. Those being baptized also had to sign a document stating they were being baptized by their own free will and not being forced to do so by the Church.

After the baptisms, we enjoyed a meal of chicken biryani (which was delicious) and shortly after, the service started. The pastor preached on staying faithful during persecution. A recent change in Indian governmental parties has many Christian worried. This new government relies heavily on Hindu groups who plan to convert Indian Christians back to Hinduism. Our group had the opportunity to lead in some worship songs at the service also. It was a great experience to worship the Lord with our new friends!

For the rest of the evening, the church hosted a barbecue for the church youth (basically anyone from 12-25 years old). We spent time playing lots of games, singing songs, and having fun until 5:30am. The group especially enjoyed learning how to play Ninja - a game where you want to chop other players hands while protecting your own. All-in-all, this was a great way to ring in 2015!