Team members pray for villagers in east India.
(Image courtesy India Partners)
India (MNN) — What can you do with a short-term missions team of only five people? A lot, says Kaytie Fiedler of India Partners. She shares the following short-term missions report from a recent two-week trip, one that journeyed from the red-light districts of Mumbai to the jungles of east India.
“We had a very full two weeks of ministry,” shares Fiedler. Her team of five provided three types of training to church workers: counseling, pastoral, and health training.
“God puts the right people together every time; I’ve never been disappointed. This trip, we had a grandmother who’s retired at 68 to a medical technician; so, a wide variety of people, but their hearts are so full of love for India and wanting to serve there.”
The following short-term missions report details major steps of their journey.
Week 1: Mumbai
For the first half of their short-term missions trip, Fiedler and the India Partners team spent time ministering in the red-light districts of Mumbai. There, the team met up with workers from the Sahaara Charitable Society, one of India Partners’ ministry cohorts.
“They have a number of people that work in the red-light areas, helping to reach women and children in the brothels,” explains Fiedler. “They have very little training to reach people like these, who are stuck in a really horrible position and not quite sure how to get out.”
India Partners’ training sessions included times of prayer and encouragement.
(Image courtesy India Partners)
India Partners sends short-term teams twice a year to help train Sahaara’s workers.
“This training has done wonders for their group,” Fiedler shares. “They’re continuing to grow and understand more and more about how to work with traumatized people, and help them make better decisions about their future.”
Fiedler shares more highlights from the trip here.
“When they look at us as Americans, they think, ‘Gosh, these people have no troubles; they have all the money they could ever want; no one ever treats them poorly,'” explains Fiedler. “When we can share our personal journeys that include a lot of hurt and pain…that is where redemption starts.
“Seeing them grasp this message deeper and deeper each time is really a testament to how the Gospel is working.”
Week 2: East India
After a week of ministry in Mumbai, the team boarded a plane for east India. They held four days of conferences in a small jungle village for approximately 60 rural church workers. A couple of the days’ trainings centered on pastors, while another focused on women ministry leaders.
Church leaders were encouraged to view people as Jesus does.
(Image courtesy India Partners)
“What we want to do is train people to see others with the eyes of Jesus,” Fiedler explains.
“This made a lot of lights go on over the heads of people; they hadn’t really thought of the idea [before]. We even used the example of putting sunglasses on; ‘put your Jesus glasses on’ and see people the way God sees them.”
Where is God leading you?
Is God calling you to serve in India? Find ways to “go” with India Partners here, or call their office at (877) 874-6342.
“You’re just never ‘not qualified’; it doesn’t matter where you are in your spiritual walk, it doesn’t matter what kind of profession you have or don’t have, God wants to use you,” shares Fiedler.
“It’s amazing what God does when somebody says, ‘Yes, I want to go. Please use me Lord’ — He never disappoints; He always uses each person so uniquely. It’s very empowering and encouraging.”
Do you have a short-term missions report to share? Please include it in the Comments section below!
