None of us knew exactly what to expect when we got up this morning. All we were told was we were going to go out with Big Life Ministries to a remote village. We left the BMS guest house at about 10 am and piled into the jeeps. The journey seemed to go on for ages (probably because we had no idea where we were going!) It was bumpy to say the least – we began to wonder if our driver was deliberately going for all the potholes.
A queasy two-and – a-half hours later we arrived at a petrol station where we had our lunch and were entertained by goats, cats, dogs and cows, wandering aimlessly around. I can assure you it does not rank very highly as one of the best places to picnic in India! We were then taken along a very narrow and muddy path which we had to cross to board ‘Peace’ the Big Life and BMS boat which would take us to one of the remote villages on an island in the Sunderbans. There were a few difficulties getting the boat near enough to the land for us to get one (even so, I thought it was a great little adventure), but eventually the boat was successfully sailing. And it was most definitely worth all the trouble…the views were incredible.
On the boat Pastor Benjamin explained that they were going to do some church planting. So we arrived at the remote little village which initially felt deserted, with the Big Life team. If I’m honest, I didn’t know how this was going to work, or what effect it would have on the people, but God had other ideas. Before long quite a crowd of locals had gathered; considering the remoteness of the village and the fact that we’re white, it was hardly surprising. At the village school we began playing games and singing songs with some of the children and before long, there was an attentive crowd of over 150 people. It was exciting just being there, but things got even better when one of the men from Big Life spoke to the villagers and then prayed and most of the locals joined in! Little cards were given out to everyone there telling them all about Jesus and we left the village on the boat, waved off and all very excited about what we’d been able to see.
Some people back home will be pleased to know that on the return boat journey we managed to get ‘Shine’ translated into Bengali!
Before heading back to the guest house we stopped off at one more village for refreshments of Onion Bargees, Samosas and Chai tea. Once again we were all so touched by the hospitality of the people we met. In the jeep we had time to reflect on the day which for me has been one of the best. To arrive at a place full of people who hadn’t even heard of Jesus, then to see them praying less than an hour later was just incredible, and I’m so glad I was able to witness it. But that wasn’t even the most amazing thing! Back at BMS we received news that 4 people from the small, remote village have already asked to be baptised. The baptisms are going ahead this Tuesday. People from Big Life are going back out to start a bible study group and within a year, these brand new Christians could be planting churches of their own. All I could say in response to this was ‘Wow’. I am unbelievably privileged to have witnessed (first hand) the things God can do with people when they live the Gospel, bother to make an effort and pray for change. I can safely say the long, queasy, uncomfortable and bumpy ride in the jeep was most definitely worth it!