SAT -Day 5) Search but No Seizure
We also had time to pray.
It takes an additional (other than Indian) special visa to enter Nagaland. It is an area of tribal insurgency so people moving in and out of the area are closely monitored. We experienced this first hand when we passed through the military checkpoint. The armed soldiers motioned for the van to pull over. One stuck his head through the front seat window where I was sitting. He saw our bags of ministry items pushed under the seat, and he saw a car full of non-Indians. He opened my door and signaled us to get out.
After a few tense moments we were motioned to get back in and continue on our journey.
We knew we were going to have to cross the same checkpoint this morning and we knew we had to pray to advance the Kingdom!
Last night as we were preparing, Lipok came in with his familiar grin and said, "You ladies have two options. To get to the village we can walk across a river or we can take the road and we will have a mile walk to the village. It's up to you." We laughed. What kind of river was this? What if we fell in? What was God expecting us to do? How far would we go to a people that could potential run us out like the first village? If we had to cross a river to get there it would mean should we have to make an "escape" we might be swimming for our lives! Were crocodiles involved? Lipok also told us to "take care for our shoes."
By the time we reached the river, we saw it probably wasn't going to be all that bad. It was knee deep in places, cold and a little swift, but with several willing pastors to escort us across, and my bright yellow Crocs being used by everyone as "the shoes" to make the wade in, we did fine.
We could see the villagers and children gathered at the top of the embankment watching. We decided they were most likely taking bets on which one of us would fall.
We walked through the village and faced the crowds of the curious. Many of the men were out in the fields harvesting chilis and other produce. The women were at the embankment picking stones from the river and digging them out of the crumbling slopes. Lipok suggested we start with games and dancing before we shared the Gospel presentation. This would calm the men and young boys down so they could see we were there to do know harm.
It worked.
By the time it came around to passing out the beads and sharing the Gospel, even the young men who sat on the sidelines as skeptics, went through the crowd making sure everyone got a bracelet. They would encourage the older women to come up, they would walk with frightened toddlers. It was a most precious site to see how the Lord turned their hearts towards His.
When we were almost finished with the beads, a young man came up from the fields. He was carrying a 25 lb bag of fresh picked "hot" chilies. His teeth were orange, colored from years of chewing beetle nut. He looked at our strange gathering. One of the evangelist approached him with a bracelet and shared the whole message of the truth with him. It was a most wondrous sight. But a few moments later, the village evangelist (a converted Muslim) who was sitting on the grass guarding our backs and reading his bible was approached by this same young man.
There they sat, young seeker, and an old believer. One holding the Bible, one holding the Koran. It was a sight to behold indeed!
Today in a village of Muslim Stone pickers there were those who were searching.
We seized the day!
Carpe Diem and Dancing
Charlynn
"I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight." Isaiah 45:3
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