Lights Brightly Shining: A Sponsor's View of Native Missions

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness . . ." (John 1:4-5).

Dear SEND! Reader,

In India for two weeks with a GFA Vision Tour, I was completely unprepared for the darkness of the land—or for the brightness of the light cast by our native missionaries.

Darkness was everywhere. Women and babies slept on dirty rugs laid out on dirtier sidewalks. Cows and children rummaged for something to eat through heaps of rotting produce. Men relieved themselves along garbage-strewn streets.

But the spiritual darkness was even worse. Small, gaudy shrines dotted village street corners. Women, dressed in ghostly silken black from head to foot, stared out of small rectangular slits. And from his granite perch, a fat idol stared sightless with glazed, stone eyes.

But in the missionaries I saw light. I saw God's power perfected in weakness. I saw His humility and His sufficiency as they bowed their heads in prayer. And in their willingness to suffer hardship and persecution, I saw His overwhelming love for all humanity.

Near Delhi, at a GFA Bridge of Hope center, the missionary principal called on a small boy about 5, who stepped across the uneven brick courtyard. Dressed in a clean, new school uniform, he blurted with gusto, "The Lord my God is one God!"

In Kerala, at the Gospel for Asia Biblical Seminary, we sat in the back of the chapel and watched as hundreds of students filed past us—faces serious but aglow with life, dark eyes intent but gentle.

"Just look at their faces and think which ones will be martyred for the Lord," one tour member whispered.

Bouncing along in the back of a Jeep heading out of Mumbai, Simon told me that he had struggled terribly to learn English. Remembering the story of Balaam, he had cried out in prayer, "God, You can make even donkeys to speak." With face shining, Simon laughed, "Now I speak four languages!"

Just as Thomas was blessed by touching Jesus' hands and side, so I too have been blessed by seeing Jesus alive in the earthen vessels of these believers. These are our missionaries, yours and mine, whose photos decorate our refrigerators or stand amidst the clutter of our desks. In the darkness of Asia, they are lights brightly shining.

May God bless you in your prayers and giving for these great saints.

Love, Mary