I’m really excited about this day. Today I am going to an airport to pick up my husband as he flies in from India! I know in his jet lag, he’s going to be sedated. When I pick him up, it will be 2 a.m. in his India brain. I can wait for the stories, but I am excited to hear them.
There are stories about hundreds of orphans that he has been able to see. He took a big bag of Halloween candy donated by the grands, from their trick-or-treating. Every time he called, the kids wanted to know if he had passed out their candy. “Did you take a video?”
There are stories about dozens of widows who were given sewing machines to provide sustenance. He sent some photos of them. I can’t wait to hear the stories behind the pictures. I think the widows are often connected (placed in the orphanages) to care for the orphans, too. I can’t wait to hear about that.
Best of all, there were hundreds of baptisms…souls that were pricked and responded to the offer made possible by the blood of God, the Messiah, on a cross at Calvary 2000 years ago. These are souls I will be seeing. I can picture, in heaven, Glenn introducing me to some of these 600-plus people who were baptized as Glenn and the two godly men who invited him to go, Glenn Homes and Zach Holmes, preached in a country where the retention rate of New Testament Christians is over 90 percent. I believe they preached in about 60 places. I am certain that Glenn said he, personally, preached over 25 times.
But Glenn kept saying, “I did not convert these people. The faithful men there are constantly studying with these people, baptizing them into Christ, and working to help them be faithful.” But to witness hundreds putting on Christ is a phenomenon that we may never see in the United States, due to the widespread misunderstanding here, even among good and moral people, that salvation is not dependent on submission in baptism. (In short, we are often too proud to think we need to do something for our salvation….to obey.) The sad reality that people do not respond here, in great numbers, is also due to our wealth. We are often lulled by our riches into a mentality that dismisses our utter dependence on God, while offering a plethora of glittering entertainment choices and diversions that constantly distract us from the only ultimately important pursuit of life: getting to heaven.
But I am going to the airport. As I do, I am going to pray that the after-effects of this long trip will permeate into the hearts of six grandchildren, who are eagerly anticipating the stories, too. Their Papa has already told me several new emphases He would like to inject into some Family Bible times with them, when they visit. Their hearts are getting ready for their own eventual submission in faith. One of them asked me this week, “What if I do get ready to be baptized? How will I know when it is the time?”
The answers to those kinds of questions are catalysts, ever drawing them nearer to faith’s lifetime surrender. I am so thankful for the conversations along the way. I am thankful for opportunities like this trip that give the conversation new fodder and context, as a little bonus, to follow this great work in that country.
And I am thankful to have “the greatest fixer,” as Eliza calls him, home!
