I didn’t really know why God had called me to India. And to be honest, I had absolutely no desire to go. India was not my first choice. But one day, standing in front of a classroom of children who were all mostly Hindu, I began to understand why.
That day, I was able to share the Crucifixion story with a class of 9th graders. I hadn’t planned to at all, in fact, I was going to talk about Cain and Abel and how jealousy leads to sin and separation from God. But as Josten was sharing the whole of the Gospel story with the class, God suddenly put it on my heart to teach on the Crucifixion. The class we taught earlier that morning was very quick so I thought, “Okay. I probably won’t have time to actually to actually share. I’ll share it if I have time but I should be fine.” The enemy was trying to convince me to keep my mouth shut, but by the time Josten finished sharing the Gospel, we still had almost an hour left to teach. God knew we were going to have extra time and I knew we couldn’t just stand there in silence for an hour, so I began to speak.
God knew we were going to have extra time and I knew we couldn’t just stand there in silence for an hour, so I began to speak.
I didn’t want to scare the students, the crucifixion is a brutal thing, but they were 9th graders and I felt the Lord give me the OK to share in depth and detail about what Jesus went through. I shared everything. I shared how Jesus allowed himself to be beaten and mocked. How he allowed the soldiers to slam a crown of thorns on His head and then forced Him to carry a heavy, wooden cross for miles to a steep hill where He was to be murdered. I shared about the nails in His wrists and ankles and how nothing compares to the pain He was in in those moments. How we can’t begin to even imagine how excruciating that had to have been for Him. I shared about how He could’ve called down angels from Heaven and struck the soldiers down where they stood with just a thought, but He didn’t. He instead, allowed himself to be tortured and murdered simply to be reunited with us. Simply so we wouldn’t have to endure an entire eternity full of what He just went through. He allowed himself to endure more pain than most of us will endure our entire life all because He wanted to be able to speak to us and be as close to us as possible. Because He wanted fellowship and relationship with US. As I shared all of this with the class, I scanned the room. I saw faces filled with shock, awe, wonder, surprise, and many other expressions. I saw students the same age as my little sister enraptured by the story of how our King died, just to save us and know us on a deep, personal, intimate level. And that is when it really woke me up.
I saw students the same age as my little sister enraptured by the story of how our King died, just to save us and know us on a deep, personal, intimate level.
That is the moment I knew why I was sent to India, why the Lord called me there. He showed me the lost, broken hearts of 9th graders who are hungry for so much more than the lies that they have been brought up in. More than half of the students I taught that day had NEVER heard the name of Jesus before. They had NEVER heard the Gospel story and they certainly had NEVER heard about a God willing to lay down His own Son for our ransom and our deliverance. These kids have grown up surrounded by the lies of the enemy, and still their spirits know that something is missing. When they heard the story of this man, this Jesus who laid down His life for theirs, they lit up. Their eyes had a new, hungry fire in them that I didn’t see at the beginning of the class. And it was amazing. It was amazing to see them realize that there is so much more than the life they’re trapped in. It was amazing to see their hearts slowly begin to be worked on.
But the best part wasn’t how it made me feel, because trust me, I was on a spiritual high when I finished teaching. The VERY best part about seeing all of that was the Lord saying, “THIS is why you’re here. You’re here to lead people to my heart. You’re here to plant seeds for me to water as these students continue to grow. You’re here because I love my children and I have called YOU to be my vessel and show them my goodness.”
God did amazing things on my outreach to India. And that day, in that small, hot, classroom, God was moving in the hearts of the students and I simply said “yes” to His call and prompting in my heart.
-Kaitlyn, DTS Outreach