By Mike Davis

Final Update from India (Thursday & Friday)

Hello Vineyard family, 

Yesterday (Thursday), Ranjit drove us to the city of Agra. It took about 3 hours (45 minutes of that was getting to the highway). Traffic in the city of Delhi cannot be fully appreciated in words; it must be experienced!

We made the trip to see one of the eight wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal! And friends, it was worth it! Pictures cannot begin to show the magnificence of the complex; not only of the Taj, but of all the area surrounding it. 

As much as we all enjoyed the road trip, the best part of the day was yet to come. We were invited to attend a small gathering of believers calls a “cell group” (like our Vineyard groups). In a room, about 10x10, there were 25-40 of us. As guests, we were given chairs and everyone else just sat on the floor. These cell groups are where believers in Christ come and worship and pray in different homes. After several worship songs, Pastor Kathy shared a brief message and I was asked to close in prayer (needless for me to say, I was humbled and honored). Those feelings only increased for us all as the leader of the group asked if we would pray for anyone in need. Pastor Kathy and Korie shared words of knowledge that the Holy Spirit showed them; and we prayed for whatever the need or request was. Praise the Lord! It was a long but blessed day!  

Today (Friday), after I shared a short devotional during breakfast, Pastor Abraham and Ranjit drove us out to one of their schools in Habur (the state next to Delhi). The school teaches children from pre-school through high school. They held a special assembly for us; we each gave a short introduction and shared words of encouragement to the students and teachers. We were each presented with flowers and a beautiful sash to put over our shoulders. They gave the team a school tour and every class greeted us gladly and with joy! These kids are so incredibly polite, it is amazing!  

Following the assembly, Pastor Abraham walked us out to the land that is waiting to be built on. The school is filled and will soon be to overflowing, so they want to build a 4-story building to house more students, making the total number of students of 2,000. It is awesome to hear their vision for the future and their desire to continue to grow and reach more people for Jesus, as well as offer a quality education.  

After a long drive back, at 5pm we went to the offices for Christ for India for a one-hour worship and prayer time with staff, who were both in person and over zoom. It was an honor to ask to participate through prayer on specific topics. Afterwards, Pastor Abraham, his wife Joyce and Ranjit & his family took us out to a very nice place for dinner and fellowship. Another blessed day. 

This will be the last update! Tomorrow, we check out of the hotel and spend the day with Abraham at his house and get to do some shopping. We leave for the airport at midnight! 

Thank you for the prayers. It has been everything I hoped for and more!  God bless!  

P.S. A note from Pastor Kathy: For those of you who follow along, it means a lot to us out here in India! Thank you for your prayers. I am confident, once again, that this amazing team of people in India are exactly who we should be partnering with at The Vineyard Church. They desperately love the Lord and their country. Their desire to reach their country for Jesus motivates them to press on every day in some, sometimes dark, circumstances. We are privileged to walk alongside them! Much love to you all! 

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