We’re just getting started

Missionaries have been coming to India since Thomas - he of doubting fame - alighted from the sailboat when it docked way down south on the coast in Kerala. Singlehandedly he came, bringing the gospel message at a sprightly step up the beach to reach the masses in AD 52. That's just lore but what is more certain is that there were Jews living here in the first century and Christianity arrived via the trading routes to the Indian subcontinent very early on. We are still part of the community of disciples, 21 centuries later, who believe in the name of the Lord Jesus and the things concerning the kingdom of God. There are over 3,000 Christadelphians in India in more than 100 ecclesias. And so many of them want to get out and about to talk about Jesus. To advocate the hopefulness of a life lived now for Christ and the hopefulness of the life everlasting to come when he returns. There are always baptisms at the two camps that round off each old year and kick off each new - End of Year and Hyderabad Bible Week. Most baptisms were young people from projects which WCF supports so it was pretty delightful to see the call of the gospel at work. Coming up out of the water there is clapping and singing to greet you as you start out on this new walk hand in hand with Jesus. We have seen girls terrified of going under the water and it was a bit of a struggle to baptise them without scaring them - suffice to say it involved a bit of encouragement, a lot of screaming and everyone was glad of the songs to restore a sense of joy!

So, what do you think about when you think about India? They say there are just two choices; love it or hate it. You see the pollution and choke in the poor quality air. Or you see the amazing sunset that the smog makes and look up at the immense starry sky when the construction dust settles. You are irritated by the endless noise and harassed by the rush. Or you wonder at all the new sounds and laugh out loud at the impossibility of getting a moment’s peace and quiet. You see ragged children begging and feel them tugging on your clothes and it panics you. Or you smile and try to say hello and you notice a column of small schoolgirls walking by in bright uniforms, hair braids neatly tied with white ribbons. You feel defeated by the dominance of Hinduism; the evil looking gods and the garish temples. Or you feel hopeful like Elijah that there are still those who have chosen a different way, who the one true God has called for his own. You meet and break bread in a setting that feels familiar and welcoming.

But for me at least, I don't think reactions to this land are quite so binary. From day to day you are on shifting sands with your ability to cope, process and function. Manageable, crushing, amazing, exhausting. It's best for your mental health to take it one day at a time and see each new morning as more or less wonderful than the one before. What is clear and shining and inspiring is that God is at work and it is amazing to be here again with His lovely people. And you feel confident that WCF is working well as a mechanism to bring relief, uplift and positivity. WCF's commitment to help grow the faith of those who want to learn, to appeal directly to the heart of the hearer and show the deep love of the Father and the Son to those who are seeking something more than this world can offer is so essential here in India. The gospel, by and large here, has spoken to the hearts of the poor. For people who are living in want and in fear, the idea of a life lived right now in grace and under the care of a dear Father has great appeal. So if India feels like the most foreign of countries and the very notion of going there induces a bit of anxiety then maybe I can try to ease your worries and perhaps start to change your mind. We love to read all these verses like ‘the poor are with you always’ and ‘‘kindness to the poor is like lending to God’. But what might it be actually like to go and live with them for a little while? To truly know what it is like to place all your cares upon the one who never fails? Because you have no other help. India is a country of paupers and billionaires, shacks and mansions, torn rags and heavy silk saris. The contradictions each day are immense and challenging to navigate, but it is a country like no other to let you truly see Jesus and his lovely ways shine. To make you realise that you are the poor and the needy and you just didn’t know it. There are more than 2,000 references about helping the poor in our scriptures. Just one here: "I know that the Lord secures justices for the poor, and upholds the cause of the needy" Psalm 140:12. India will help you, not the other way around.