India

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
He said, "Go and tell this people..." (Isaiah 6:8-9)
What people? Go and tell what people, God? I'm going. I know you called me, and I said I'd go. But where???????
For so long that has been my question. Not anymore. Sometimes, when God makes His will known, I get this odd feeling... It's a mix between wanting to jump up and down and spin in circles then fall down at His feet in adoration... and getting on my knees, bent low because it feels like my heart is breaking -hurting with the pain of a nation.

I'm going to India.

I don't know where, I don't know how, and I don't know for how long. I do know that God has put this nation so indelibly on my heart that I will never be the same again.
The excitement and happiness is from knowing. Knowing that vague feeling "I should go to India" is replaced by a definite "I'm going to India." Knowing that every step leading up to this point was preparing my heart to love a nation. Knowing that God has put these people on my heart and will use me to touch one. Knowing that if I can touch one, it will all be worth it. Knowing that I haven't barely tasted love for this country yet, and I won't until I set foot on that foreign soil. Knowing that I am called and set apart to be a light to India. Knowing that my mission starts now, not when I get there.

With this direction and excitement for the future also come glimpses of pain and suffering, and my heart hurts for India. God has broken my heart for these people. I just spent hours researching India, and I want to share a little of what I found. So you can understand why I'm so excited, yet so burdened for this country.
There are 2,223 unreached people groups in India. That's over 5 times more than those in China, the next most unreached nation.
412 million Indians have never heard the name of Jesus.
India has the largest number of orphans in the world.
33o million objects of worship in India- they're looking anywhere and everywhere for salvation... and so many are missing it
70% of the population is illiterate.
86% of the population lives on less than $2.50 a day. (stats from Mission India)

Dalits are those beneath the caste system. Considered "untouchable" by everyone, they are worse than poor- they're outcasts. They are not viewed as humans, rather people see them as a shame upon the earth and polluted. After accidentally coming in contact with one, a person of higher caste has to purify himself. They are undesirable and expendable. 40 million of these Dalits are slaves or live in slave-like conditions. They are in bondage to pay off inherited debts and live on less than $1 a day, making freedom impossible. The women are frequently the victims of rape and sex trafficking, because they are seen as "good for nothing else." This broke my heart and I simultaneously cried, "Lord send me to them. Those people are the 'least of these'."
But as I researched further, I discovered something amazing. For hundreds of years India has been closed to God and Christianity. However, recently there have been movements of Christianity and people are coming to know Christ like no other time in India's history. The awesome part? This movement to Christianity is coming from the bottom rung of the social ladder- from the Dalites. The least of these, the untouchables, the forsaken are finding freedom and LIFE in Christ. Truly the last will be first in the kingdom of God! (Matthew 20:16) These people, rejected by men, are finding it easy to trust in God because their eyes are not blinded by social standing or wealth or fear of popular opinion. These people are willing to give their lives for Christ because He truly is the only reason to live. They are shaking the social order, and the news of Christ is moving up the ladder of the caste system... from the very outcasts Jesus would have befriended in His day. It is obvious God is doing something big in India, and I desperately want to be a part of it!

There is a reason "Send me!" has an exclamation point after it. Once you have heard the call of God and felt His hand open your heart to love... you just want to GO! I want to go. Right now. But I don't want to rush ahead of God and end up drowning in my enthusiasm, so I am praying and waiting for His direction. I appreciate your prayers as well, because there are possibilites for me to go this summer, but if that's God's will then it will require some major trust... because it's expensive and I definitely don't have the money. So here I am. Waiting to be sent, but also praying for this country that has captured my heart.

More later, but for now... goodnight. Praise Him. My heart rejoices in the Lord!

Verse for tonight sent via text as an encouragement from Lucy Beth (thanks, love): 1 Samuel 2:6-10