The Rest of the Story...

Want to see pictures and a video of our trip?  Click on HERE!

Well, I'm home and recovering from jet lag.  There is so much to tell you and yet I'm sure that if I write a book full of information, many of you will not be willing to read so much.  I think I'll give you some bullet points of information that will fill in most of what happened in Raipur.  If what I write is not sufficient for you, please write me and I'll send you a fuller report to enjoy.  Here we go....

- While we were in Raipur, we had major Indian political people staying in the same hotel we were in.  This group represented the Hindu side of the political spectrum.  The hotel had many armed guards (with machine guns) and metal detectors.  It was pretty scary to see at first.  The benefit was that we received a double upgraded room.  Thanks Jesus!

- I taught about 7 hours on Tuesday, November 11th.  It was a grueling day and I was tired at the end of it.  The first few hours was full of gaining the students respect and connecting with them.  There were about 50 men and 5 women in attendance.  We spent about 2.5 hours dealing with deep questions and fears that these people had with the principles we that were being taught.  The rest of the day was spent in deep spiritual battles that needed to be broken.  After teaching, we went back to our hotel rooms with machine gun guards in place.  We had dinner and then went to our rooms and prayed together for God to break through the students pride.  We also had a great time of laughing.  Jeffery is very funny - my side still hurts!

- Wednesday began much like Tuesday with lots of question and opposition.  About 2 hours into the teaching, I was overcome by the Spirit of God to directly address these people about their opposition.  I had shared much truth with them and they only had tradition to combat the truth from God's Word.  I spoke clearly to them that many of them were Pharisee's, holding to the traditions of men and not to the Word of God.  I spoke to them how these things were holding them back.  I have rarely felt the Spirit of God so strongly.  God broke the spiritual strongholds.  Jeffery had a prophetic word for us from Isaiah 43:19-20 earlier in the week.  Those words of refreshment were beginning to flow.  God is amazing.   The rest of the day was amazing, free and full of rejoicing.  In the middle of day two, Matthew was smitten with a similar illness that I had on Saturday.  We prayed for him and he was instantly healed and was able to continue with translating the teachings.

- At the end of day two, the men began to come up to both Josh and myself for hugs, handshakes and prayer.  God was on the move.

- Day three, Thursday the 13th, began much differently.  There was freedom and a powerful and favorable response to the truth.  God was moving and I was rejoicing.  At the end of our teaching each of the men came up to us for hugs, handshakes and prayers.  We must had spent 45 minutes to an hour just praying for the men and women individually.  Friends were formed. Prayers were offered and God continued to heal.  

Josh and I made it home safely, exhausted and spent emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I know that our efforts and  your support will have several generation of affects upon India and beyond.  The spiritual battles fought and won were amazing.  God is good - He always is.

While I was gone great things were brewing in our church, ValleyLife Church here in Peoria, Arizona.  Two new house churches began, a strong move forward in going deeper with God continued and a list of folks coming close to salvation was shared with me.  I'm so grateful to God for His mercy and blessing.

Thanks again for your involvement in this adventure.  Your prayers and support made it all possible.  If you have further questions or would like more detail, feel free to e-mail me at edwaken@cox.net.