Christ Community Church World Missions

The Vision Made to 'Stand'

"The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed; so shall it stand."

Isaiah 14:24

The Joy of India

"Pastor Jack, I feel that you should come to India and open a school for the very poor children!" Last year, 2006, I heard that powerful prophecy from Pastor Samantha-Naik, the India director of The Happy Valley Orphanage & other ministries in the state of Orissa, India.

When I heard those words I began to pray and test the Spirit to see if that was indeed a calling for Christ Community Churches World Missions. We were already involved in Jamaica, Haiti and Bolivia and were not sure if our organization could assume another country. We began to pray & wait upon the Lord. The answer soon came and it was in the affirmative! Yes! We were supposed to go to India and test the waters.

This happened in February, 2007. The Lord was so gracious to me in forming a team of church leaders to travel to India for a time of crusades, revivals and conferences. This anointed team consisted of Pastors Chuck Evans, George Cooper & Mark Spaulding.

This team came together with prayer, faith, unity and a love for India. We prayed that God would use us to teach and encourage the large number of pastors and church leaders who would be attending the conference where we would be speaking. We prayed, also, for the lost souls that would be attending the revivals and crusades.

We left for India on March 15^th. The journey took more than 40 hours from the time we left Carmel, Indiana and arrived in Happy Valley in Orissa. The journey was long and arduous, but we were driven by a similar call that the Wise Men received as they followed that "Star" that led them to Bethlehem. I am convinced that those Wise Men rode their camels from India and we were blessed to ride a jet from Indiana. We found Jesus in India and they found Him in Israel.

We were greeted in the Happy Valley Orphanage by more than 45 young male orphans. They sang for us and gave us warm hugs as we entered their compound. That was the beginning of our relationship with the beautiful children and adults in India. The next day was Sunday and I chose to remain behind at the orphanage rather than attending one of the mission churches. I wanted to connect with the boys in the orphanage who would be available during that day.

It only took a smile, a beckon of my hands plus several coloring books & crayons to win their little hearts. I was blessed as they colored Bible pictures and would hurry to show me their art work. When that activity was ended I got lots of smiles, hugs & greetings in English that they had memorized.

I had to remind myself that these young men were some of the poorest children in the world. They came from the Low Caste system in India and that means that they have no privileges. Their families live in poverty and squalor. The lowest jobs in the nation are saved for them and the pay is pathetic. So many children are left orphans due to the lack of medical assistance & starvation. But, to watch them, listen to their excited voices, and see their beautiful smiles one would never suspect that they were victims of poverty.

These young men have been rescued by the Happy Valley Orphanage Mission. They now have hope. Their faces showed their joy and appreciation. They have been accustomed since birth to sleep on the floor, eat with their right hands, use the left one for toilet paper, wear whatever might be available & eat whatever might be available. In spite of all the suffering & dire poverty these children still carry an infectious smile.

Also, each of the young boys signed their names to the art work and wanted me to bring them back to America to show others these little gifts of their appreciation. During the art project we were joined by some of the ladies and men who work for the mission. One of the cooks was a Hindu and he and I bonded together that day. He couldn't wait to bring us cups of hot tea or coffee whenever he thought we might enjoy it. This was a great day in my life, but the next day, the pastors-leaders conference, was the highlight of the entire trip to India for me.

I was assigned to speak in the afternoon session of the pastors-leaders conference. I was not prepared for what happened.

The conference was held under a canvas tabernacle stretched over a bamboo construction. The men were seated on the right side of the tabernacle and the women on the left.

Most of the ladies & children sat on the ground. The ladies were dressed in the beautiful silk saris that gave them such a modest, biblical appearance.

The music and singing began. In the typical India worship service, it is expected that the service will last about 3 hours. We enjoyed this lively, rhythmic music. But, it appeared to me that there was a spirit of somber reserve. The Spirit seemed to be speaking to me to preach-teach on the topic of "Joy!"

It was the best moment of the entire trip for me. We were all blessed by the response of these hundreds of precious, hungry for the Spirit, Indians. The invitation and challenge to "rejoice and be exceedingly glad" was greeted by spontaneous clapping, dancing & singing by the entire congregation. It was so contagious that the Americans were celebrating, also.

One of the lady delegates to the Conference, who was about 70 years old, left the audience and climbed up to the pulpit area and invited me to dance with her. What a joy! She danced me across the front of the pulpit while she celebrated the Joy of the Lord. Then, she moved to each of the American pastors and involved them in this colorful celebration. That day I knew that part of my heart would always be in India. From that day the miracles and joy increased.

We witnessed so many people responding to the invitations in the different services. Many came for special prayer for their own salvation while others were seeking healing of their bodies & for their families. Some days the conferences or crusades would last more than 10 hours in the morning, afternoon and evening sessions! No one wanted to leave until the last amen had been spoken. In one crusade the people, more than 4,000, I think, had sat on the ground under a tabernacle of sticks, string and leaves for more than 8 hours just waiting for the Americans to arrive from a distant destination. What patience and hunger for Christ!

Another highlight of joy was the moment when we were able to inspect the new property that has now been purchased in the name of Christ Community Church World Mission. These five acres will house the boarding school, free of course, for a lot of poor children and orphans. The vision includes not only dormitories for the children, the school facilities, but also, a small medical center to attract the community to our school and church.

As we walked over the acreage that day and prayed for the new school & other facilities we could only rejoice that our Heavenly Father had called us more than 10,000 miles to this site to be a blessing to His children in India.

The joy and the promises still continue to this day. We have been assured that the entire cost of these buildings has already been promised & provided! How can this be possible? It is very simple! His calling is His provision! He only asks us to hear and heed His voice and He will do the rest. We have the assurance that the construction and beginning of the new school will take place in 2008. Winona and I cannot wait to return to this beautiful land and those precious children where once more "we will dance for joy!"