Although the preparation for this journey has been outstanding, thanks to the staff at GCC and my wonderful team leaders Nate & Jessica Stemm, there's no real method out there for completely preparing a person to visit the remote village of Kalavai here in India. In many cases, the best we can do is to learn to expect the unexpected.
One such instance occurred mid-morning on Sunday, as the team attended church together. It was one of the first things we've done here in the village. And man oh man, I have never been greeted before as such royalty. Upon getting to the church, the service completely stopped. All in attendance seemed enamored with our presence, and the clamoring began, each one there just hoping to get to touch one - or better yet all of us, white men and women. It was as if 17 celebrities had arrived, and each was instantaneously surrounded on the red carpet to receive the love of many.
Their overly-hospitable - if such a kind exists - demonstration right away left me puzzled. Should I be embarrassed at the reception we received? Should I have tried to stamp it out, or refuse it? Or should I have expected it on some level?
While a lot of the questions I have still remain unanswered, what I do know is this: it was a magnificent pleasure to be in a house of worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. In God's kingdom, the first shall be last and the least of these shall be the greatest. I know that in God's family, we're all his cherished children, and praising God as a body earlier today was a special moment.
As if not just being there was inspirational enough, the message we received from God's word, through his messenger, who was a traveling evangelist & well versed in English (lucky for us), was equally as uplifting. The preacher emphatically called everyone in the building to stop putting limits on what God can do. He recalled the stories of Lazarus' resurrection, his own personal testimony, and the power present in Jesus' own resurrection to help us remember that when it comes to our Father God, we must always expect the unexpected. Today is the day of our miracle, today is the day of our salvation.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen!
Matt LaFleur
Wow! Matt! Makes me wish I was there with ya!!! Isn't it an amazing thing to worship with brothers and sisters from another country? Doesn't it make you yearn for the day when, in Heaven, we all kneel and worship our Lord together? And isn't it so cool how the language "barrier" is not a barrier at all when it comes to worshiping our awesome God? Prayers from Alaska! Jill
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