Curry, laughs & pilgrimage: Pray for 24-7's India teamStephen Harte - 29 Jan 2016

Next month, some of the 24-7 Prayer Ireland community will be travelling to India for our first mission team of 2016. Steve Harte shares a little of their journey so far, and explains how you can support the mission in prayer... 

"Ok, there's something going on here..."

So a guy gets up to say thanks to God for the food before we eat; ordinarily a pretty normal occurrence, but not this time.  

Because this time, I find myself strangely, inexplicably moved. 

The words are pretty standard, the sentiment as normal, the tone and pace of voice are nothing extraordinary. Yet something stirs within me, in that heart space that seems to be inhabited by romantic notions and also the subtle promptings of Jesus. 

My thoughts flitted between “Ok, there’s something going on in me, I need to pay attention”, and also trying not to look like I was crying due to any form of displeasure about the food that had set before me (which, on the contrary, was delicious).  

So here’s some context: the guy praying is called David. He and his wife Jill are working out in Kerala, India and unbeknownst to me it’s been on their hearts to connect in with 24-7. I met Dave and Jill one time before – they spoke at their home church on the one day I happened to visit there with a buddy. That was where my journey started in all of this; because that Sunday, Dave preached, and, oddly enough, that time too I was strangely moved.  

Now, Dave's a good guy, a solid teacher, and pretty funny on occasions, but he’s not that good! So I figured I had to assume that there was a degree of drawing in going on by the Holy Spirit - and that I should probably follow that. So connections were made, questions asked - and then 6 months later, this whole ‘saying grace’ incident occurred...

And before we knew it, me and a pal had signed up to co-ordinate a team out to India. Representative from Hong Kong, Taiwan, England, and 6 Northern Irish make up the rabble on the trip.

So I’m wondering: could we kick up a storm in prayer, really push in and see what happens?

What we’ll actually end up doing out there is intentionally a little bit under wraps right now, but what I do know is, we have our hearts set on serving the dreams of the guys who live there. 

We feel like there is something significant drawing us to pray, so we’re going believing that this a divine moment, where something will break that will bring with it the peace and love of God.

We anticipate curry, laughs, pilgrimage, and maybe the occasional tear again if Dave gets up to say grace.  

This is 24-7 India 2016. 
 

The 24-7 India team will be in Kerala from 13th-26th February, 2016. Join us as we pray for them.

 1) Pray that the team have many moments of encounter with God that have repercussions that bless those around them. 

2) Pray for repeated, unexpected opportunities to bring God's love to the local Muslim and Hindu communities. 

3) Pray they leave the local Christians deeply encouraged by their time together, having set up a prayer space and lived a rhythm of prayer alongside them. 

 

Fancy joining a mission team this summer? Our mission team pages tell you everything you need to know: 24-7prayer.com/mission-teams