We and our luggage made it here safely and in one piece. We are tired, but in good shape. God is good! We’ve enjoyed reconnecting with Pastor Moses and his family. It’s like we were never gone, we pick up right where we left off. This is my 10th trip to India. I met Pastor Moses on the first trip. I made a Snapfish book for him with pictures of both of us every ever since we’ve started – many good memories!
Despite facing so much oppression in coming, it’s always good to be here. We are still hit by the abject poverty everywhere, the tremendous number of people, the very overcrowded roads and the slow or nonexistent service when needed (our hotel key still does not work, and most of the time their wifi doesn’t work either – I am typing and sending this from Pastor Moses’ home. After spending so much time here I can look beyond those things and see the real India.
Mark Twain once wrote: “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”
India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1,166,079,217. India is the seventh largest country in the world, at 1.27 million square miles. It has 2.4% of the world land but 15% of the world population. 1 in 6 people alive live in India. 50% are under 25 years of age, 75% live in rural villages. India is the largest democracy in the world.
The population density in Delhi is 30 times that of New York City or Washington DC. Other large cities are 10 times as large as them.
250 million Indians are Dahlets and 600 million are OBC (Other Backward Casts). Together they comprise 20% of India’s total population, 10% of the world population and twice the USA population.
Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.
Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.
While India is a special country, we who live in the USA can thank God for the privilege of living here. It’s only by His grace that we find ourselves in America. We certainly had nothing to do with it. We could have been born in India, or in a time and place much worse than we have here. How often do you thank Him for that privilege? How faithful are you for praying for the USA?
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people chosen as his inheritance.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If then my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and heal their land.
Psalms 67:4-5 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you! May the nations be glad and rejoice; for you judge the peoples with fairness, you guide the nations upon the earth.
Have you been complaining about your life in the USA lately? Would you rather live somewhere else? Confess your complaining and thank Him for your life in the USA.
Where you see problems in this country, turn them into prayers to God to correct them so He can again be glorified through the USA.