Though There is Great Darkness, The Light Shines Brighter

Hindu Temple. Woman burning 
incense to gods.

In America we Christians do not think much about spiritual warfare...at least most don't. Satan tends to hide more in the pretty things in this "land of prosperity." He whispers within the American Dream of more, more, more - never be content, always strive for the best, no matter the cost. However, in India spiritual warfare is noticeable everywhere the eye looks. You step into the land of spiritual darkness and you can physically feel the heavy presence of evil. Satan and his demons run rampant in India, destroying everything within their path, growing more and more rooted within the Indian culture and way of life. Travel to a third world country and the Bible will come to life before your eyes: the beggars, the pagan idols, the lame. It's all rather overwhelming.

Shiva, Hindu god of death.

When surrounded by so much darkness it is important, vital, to absorb oneself with light. Light. My teammates and I would awaken every morning and spend time in the Word of God to begin our days. If we did not, then it was like going out in a battle field without any armor or weapon. I remember waking up late one day and skipping my quiet time. It was the only day during my time in India that I missed a quiet time. When I say that day was one of the worst days of my life I am not exaggerating. There was tension between me and my teammates, I was unhappy and felt lonely, and I was angry almost all day. We girls had what we call "house church." It was a time set aside that all four of us came together to be in the Word, and to learn from one another as we studied a book in the Bible together. During house church, we always set some time out for conflict resolution. I decided to talk to my teammates about how I had felt all day. Together we concluded that it was because I had not begun my day with God. So at the conclusion of house church, I went and had my own personal time with Jesus. Immediately I felt my soul lift, and all the negative feelings fled. All Christians should have to rely on the Bible as such, like it is our life source. After all, that is what it is...and so much more.

Though I was surrounded by such darkness while I was in India, I saw so much of God's Light shining brighter and brighter. It's amazing how bright light shines when it is surrounded by night. It's beautiful. I saw Light radiate from the orphans, and it burst forth from the believers that we were blessed to meet. Though there is great darkness, the Light always shines brighter. 

Seeing the great love that the orphans had for God shocked me. Their love for Jesus was so great that it caused me to question how much I actually loved my Savior. As much as I would like to believe that I changed their lives, I am certain that they impacted me far more than I did them. I loved them to my fullest ability and beyond, by the grace of God, and I know that they felt that love. They did the same to me, to my team. They called me Amber Mom, after all they found themselves with four moms that Summer, and I whole heatedly call them my children. Desperately I miss my son Ajay, my daughters Rosni and Daisy; I miss all of them. It was always encouraging for me to see how much joy they all had when they had nothing. Nothing earthly anyways. They had no parents; they all once were slaves; they were abandoned; they were hated by society; they wore used, torn, and dirty clothes. Yet God became their Father as soon as they believed in Jesus; they were freed from child slavery AND from sin; they became adopted as children of God, loved and provided for by their Creator; and though their clothes are ragged, they wore the tenderness, love, grace, and faith of Jesus Christ. The children at the orphanage had much to learn from us, but we had much more to learn from them. Never have I been loved like I was loved that Summer, by orphans.