Sowing seeds.

I am not quite sure how to start this entry. The Father has shown me so much this week that i cannot even begin to explain it all. But alas, i will try...

Sowing seeds can be rough sometimes. Monday we went to a village that had previously been very responsive to the stories that we told, but this week we got a very different response. The seed that we through out fell on soil that was too hard to break through. The seeds were just picked up but the birds as soon as they were spread. It was quite frustrating. We thought this family was ready, but we were wrong. So after leaving we were a bit discouraged.

Tuesday came and we traveled to a different village. As we storied with Rukshana' family and friends, they seemed to be listening but the enemy knew what was happening and the seeds that were sown were choked by weeds and thorn bushes. We faced a wave of adversity from one thorn in particular. While we were sharing at this house you could feel the presence of evil lurking all around like a tiger hungry for prey. We pleaded with the Father asking Him to break down the hold of the enemy on this place.

Once we left we went to another house in the same village. We were begging that they Father's Spirit would poor over the house like a rushing waterfall, and He definitely did. We told them the story of creation and the story of disobedience and something clicked. The spirit was there in a mighty way. We shared and shared and shared. We explained who the Son was and how He sacrificed Himself for us and all of a sudden Meentar, the maternal leader of the family, said she felt a tugging on her heart and that she knew what she had to do. That day she chose to follow the Father! And it was not only her that decided. A woman who had never heard the story of the Son, or even heard His name, decided to believe and follow Him as well!!! What a day of spiritual roller coasters! We taught them how to talk to the Father and what it means to only follow Him and they understood and believed. It was incredible. The seed that was sown landed on fertile soil and it is growing as we speak. The buds of beautiful flowers are popping up in abundance and we can't wait to go back and share some more true stories with them.

Wednesday we went to different village than we did on Monday. This village is named Kakoda. There we met a family that at first seemed to be intrigued by the stories but we soon realized that they were more interested in learning about culture in America than learning about the Word. We tried every tactic to get the conversation back to Him but every time the enemy distracted them with the questions about what life is like were we live. It was more sad than frustrating because the Word of the Father is so much more important than what Americans do for fun. Sometimes when this happens, I want to just stand up and yell "IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT THE FATHER AND WHAT HE HAS DONE AND WHO HE IS! WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" So, yet again they seed fell on hard soil and was picked up and eaten by the life of an American. We finished that day with a sliver of hope that maybe another family will invite us in and let us share. We are hopeful because He grants us the desires of our hearts and we desire people who are ready to come to the Father.

Thursday we traveled back to the village we went to on Tuesday and this time we had people back home lifting this village up at the exact moment we arrived. We had our game faces on ready for the blows that the enemy would throw. We first went to Rukshana's house, the place where we faced a lot of adversity on Tuesday, and began storying. At first things were going okay and more and more people came to the house. Then the same thorn that choked the seed on Tuesday came back ready for a fight. So we storied and then asked if they had any questions. Almost immediately the thorn started to debate and refute everything that we said. She was very adamant in saying that we have our beliefs and they have theirs and we shouldn't be there. We continued asking questions to the family and she continued to debate. I looked to my right and standing at the door was a man who looked very very angry. All at once I felt the evil that had overtaken the thorn. The man met my gaze and I knew who it was. At that moment I began to talk to the Father and asked for His Spirit to intervene and choke the enemy. In a flash the man was gone and someone called the thorns name and she was gone. Suddenly I felt calm and peace had entered the house and in that moment I remembered the verse "What then shall we say? If our God is for us, who is against us?" Rukshana who had been listening intently to the story decided that she wanted to take us to another house so that we could story with a newly married woman. So we went, we storied and we lifted her up to the Father. You could see in her eyes that she was ready for the Word. We plan on going back next week to water the seed that the Father allowed us to plant. After that another woman, a friend of Rukshana's who followed us to the newly weds house, wanted us to go and meet another woman who was recently widowed. She has 4 small children and is worried about their well being. Her mother in law lives with her and she is blind. So we lifted them up and we plan to go back next week and story with them as well.

Finally we made it to Meentar's house and we checked on them to see how they are doing with their decision to follow the Father. They were worried because the enemy was whispering in their ears. They knew they wanted to follow the Father but they were just fighting the battle that we faced when we first decided to follow Him. We explained the presence of good and evil and we shared some words of encouragement and they are excited to hear more about the Father. We gave them copies of the Word and I can't wait to see what the Father does through this family.

Now back up to Tuesday night with me.... are you there? Good. We went to an authentic Indian wedding and it was an experience to say the least. There were about 400 people from different villages dancing and laughing but quickly the attention turned from the festivities of the wedding to the 5 Americans that just walked in. We were shuffled around from here to there meeting the whole family. It was an experience to say the least.

Well there you have it. I hope that you will be praying for these families and all that we are doing here for the Kingdom.

In His name.