The holiday period is slowly coming to an end as students return to their desks and other Australians resume their regular daily grind. The mission team from St Peter’s Glenbrook that spent much of their holiday season in Hyderabad, India, are also preparing to take up their lives. But unlike many of us, life will never be ‘more of the same’ again.
Well, a few weeks have passed; the 23 of us that went to Hyderabad have disbanded and are now spread across the globe. But the day we will all be reunited once more in St Peter’s Anglican Church Glenbrook reliving the experiences we shared during those two weeks over Christmas is also moving closer.
To have lived in a place where God is moving so obviously as He is in The Bride of Christ Church in Hyderabad is bound to affect the rest of our Christian lives, just as it has the weeks following the mission. Encouraging conversations shared during the team debrief in Goa revealed the seeds God had planted within individuals in the group. To sit and hear how other people have been challenged by what has happened and how they hope to apply that into there lives when they get home has built an anticipation of what God may actually have in store for us this year.
One of the most amazing outcomes of the trip has been the revelations of gifts and talents. Every day God would surprise you with how he worked the unimaginable through the unexpected. People were constantly taken out of their comfort zones. But they rose to every occasion. Everyone emerged with a trust in God’s sovereignty and ability to work in every situation. If we can sustain these practices back home I’m sure they will inspire amazing outcomes in our local communities.
As difficult as it is to summarize the time we spent together, if I was going to try I would have to begin by saying that we all learned how small we are. We saw ourselves in the big picture, outside the world we thought we understood. In Hyderabad, surrounded by the dust, the smell, the language barriers, the danger, the poverty and the suffering - caught between the Indian who gave up two weeks work to serve us and the Indian who has no hope other than the dusty poster of a Hindu idol plastered on one of the four walls he calls his home - you not only see how small you are but how big God is. How big His grace is in revealing Himself to us, how big His love is in accepting us, how big His power is working through us and how big His plan is encompassing all of His children. As small and insignificant as we stand (wherever we are) His plan for us remains as big as He is: to bring people from all over the world, one step at a time, closer to Him.
I look forward to seeing how God will work in my life and those of my friends who came to Hyderabad last Christmas. I trust that in the inconsistencies of this year and those to come He will remain consistent, in our weaknesses He will remain strong.
We thank all of you for your prayers and ask that you continue to pray for us as we live our lives for our Lord and saviour. One thing we all felt when we were away was your prayers for us. Each individual has stories of how encouraged and amazed they were to see prayers being answered around them. We thank you for your faithfulness and want you to know that God listened and provided for us every step of the way.
God bless
Lockie and the India team
