Purposeful Prayer

I think more than anything this trip has been about learning the culture of India, learning how to pray and vision cast.  We have done prayer walks through the marketplace, in mosques, along one of the Parikrama's (A Krishna/Hindu pilgrimage walk) and throughout our current city. Sunday we were able to meet with other believers. It was a joyful time. Faith & Autumn shared from their heart, a drama was performed, Klix shared from the word, and Andi & Shelisha sang. Many were prayed for and we believed healed. This team has held up well considering the heat. They have persevered. 

Entrance to the Taj in full sun.

Foot coverings to enter the Taj

Exit to the Taj in a sand/rain storm.

Now a trip to India would not be complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal. Our visit contained all the weather elements...sun, wind, sand and rain. As we exited the building a sandstorm suddenly kicked up along the river which eventually gave over to rain and even some lighting in the distance which made for some dramatic photos and some relief from the heat. The next day before driving back to our base we visited the Red Fort written about below by Andi. Today we did a survey in the mall asking college students about their lifestyle and beliefs. Several were prayed for. One more day remains for most of the team while Autumn and I remain in-country. Pray for the team as they prepare to return and begin to process all that they have experienced. 

~Kim 
(Professor Clark)

Monday we went to Agra’s Red Fort, a place of divine beauty considering it’s a jail. The whole time I was walking through the fort, aside from the occasional question or two

Praying in the Women's Mosque @ Agra's Red Fort

asking to have my picture taken with someone since I am American, I felt a strange feeling, sadness. The fort was beautiful but if you know anything about the background of it the views are a little more somber. The story is about the Ruler who built the Taj Mahal spending too much money to build it as a memorial for the death of his favorite wife, so his son locked him away in the Red Fort and took his place as ruler. As I’m stumbling from ruin to ruin, praying to the Lord to give me peace I realized why I was so sad. The King, when imprisoned was given a special cell in which he was able to see the Taj Mahal, his “mistake”, and also the throne where his son was now ruling. This reminds me much of the people of India, because they see their mistakes, their past sins, and sometimes they do it for the better of their children. The king building the Taj Mahal to bury his most beloved wife, it’s rather romantic actually, but it’s still wrong, because he used all the kingdoms gold and money to do it. So then false gods and demons imprison the people of India. They are stuck with seeing all of the past mistakes and never being able to fix them and constantly being tormented by them. Then when we come and tell them that Jesus died for them on the cross they do not believe it because they don’t see why someone would love them so much. There is one difference though, and that is that the King would die in the Red Fort, but the people of India, of anywhere, don’t have to die, they can live eternally through Christ Jesus, their Lord and Savior. So it is our job to rescue these princes and princesses from their imprisonment in the Red Fort, better known as sin, and lead them to the cross. Praise God for this eye opening experience and for many more to come!

~Andi