Wow, it feels like it's been forever since we last emailed all of you, though it's been less than a month I think. So much has happened. Our internet access got increasingly less till it became impossible for us to send this out. Now that we have internet again, we can finally tell you about what happened. So this may run a little long.
Within two weeks of our arrival we had visited several villages and churches there. Two things became readily apparent: 1. Despite our hosts attempts, I am not a pastor/preacher and was not good at it, 2. Though they are good evangelists and dedicated pastors, they have NO teachers. Everywhere we went we were told that we could not teach them anything complicated that they can only understand simple things from the Bible, like Bible stories. So we talked with our host and suggested the idea of starting some Bible studies in the villages. He thought the idea was wonderful and started making arrangements. He said we could teach 2-3 times in each village, but I told him that the people needed a great deal of teaching and that we would need to stay much longer than that.
So within a few days, he had arranged a series of 6 Bible studies in 6 different villages Monday - Friday (there was originally a 7th, but it never got going for some reason). Once we got started it was absolutely clear to me that this was why I was in India. Teaching these wonderful people was sheer joy. Every Bible study was simply wonderful, even though it was so new to them and no one felt very comfortable interacting with me throughout the study. Some examples of how necessary the teaching was--In one place a simple teaching through John 1 that dealt with John the Baptist left people confused. They knew John the Baptist as the man who baptized Jesus, but had no idea that he had any other part in the Bible and so they were confused about why I was talking about John the Baptist doing other things. In another place, people had no idea what temptation was. Once I explained it to them they recognized it, but in this church the pastor had taught them that once you are a Christian you have no more sin, so they had no framework for fighting temptation. But through the Bible studies, God was working mightily in people's hearts. You could see the eagerness in many of their faces to learn more. It was a tremendous blessing just to be a part of this.
I based the need for the studies on the Great Commission. We are ordered to make disciples and to teach them all that Christ had commanded (which I interpret to be the whole Bible). We do not merely make converts, but we teach people the whole counsel of God. We teach them with the object in mind of making them disciple makers who teach others as well. If this is not happening, I don't feel we're really fulfilling the great commission.
In the midst of the joy of these Bible studies we were also learning more about the churches we were in, and not everything we saw was positive, unfortunately. In addition to individual churches teaching something like there is no sin after you are a Christian, there were two things that seemed to be pervasive among the particular churches we were in. First, they were telling people that they should come to Jesus because Jesus will heal them and supply them food to eat. In a land where there is pervasive illness and poverty, this is a powerful attraction for people. So when I first told a Hindu woman who said she would come to Jesus if He healed the pain in her legs that God may not heal the pain in her legs, but he has healed the deadly disease in her heart our host was shocked. 'Always we tell them God will heal them', he said. The Hindu woman seemed uninterested in the condition of her heart. Second, the pastors were careful not to preach anything that would offend people. When during a Bible study someone asked what John the Baptist preached I referenced Matthew where John the Baptist is preaching repentance and calling them a 'brood of vipers'. I stated that often we feel that we can only tell people what they want to hear or they will leave, but John the Baptist preached the truth and people were flocking to him. This caused a great deal of consternation from our host and some other pastors. Our host has forbidden the pastors to work any job outside of the ministry, so they are totally dependent on what the congregation gives to support their families. So I was told that if they know someone is sinning, they cannot preach against it because they will leave and three or more may leave with them. I tried to encourage the pastors to trust God to provide, but many just explained to me that people will leave.
But no church is perfect, right? So we just continued on, trusting that the more teaching people got, the more they would hunger for the truth, creating a pull from the people to hear more of who God really is from their pastors, thus encouraging them to preach more. But after two Bible studies, our host began talking of ending the Bible studies and going to other villages. I was shocked. There was so much to be done where we were. He was especially adamant that one village get cancelled because no one there could read and they would never learn. It became clear that he never intended to have any lasting Bible studies anywhere, and instead would just have us go a few times to each village and leave. Our host is a good man, doing what he considers best according to what he knows, so I will not say much about the situation with him. But it was becoming rapidly clear that we could not work with him any more. And if we broke with our host, we could not work with any of those pastors or churches and would need to leave the village we had moved into. We talked with him again about our concerns, laying out everything and trying to come to an understanding. He was pretty upset, and seemingly completely unable to see what we were talking about.
We consulted with those we trust. We tried to find someone else in India we might could work with. But from our position there in India we were limited, and after our last conversation with our host we felt time might be limited as well. Most of all, we felt God was in this, as confusing and heartbreaking as it was, so we bought plane tickets for America. Jeanette remains behind for a short time and should be coming home soon. Please understand, out of respect for our host I am leaving out many details that would support our decision. But the ultimate turning point on our decision was the confidence that God was directing us back to America at this time. That is what we rest on.
So the Poteet family is now living in Pennsylvania. My former boss had told me that whenever I came back from India I should give him a call and he was encouraging and happy to have me come work for him in Pennsylvania. We are looking for a house, car, pretty much everything :). We would appreciate your continued prayers, especially for Jeanette who isn't home yet. Thank you for your prayers during our time in India. And to avoid ending on sort of a down note, I'd like to tell of some of the things God accomplished while we were there:
Within two weeks of our arrival we had visited several villages and churches there. Two things became readily apparent: 1. Despite our hosts attempts, I am not a pastor/preacher and was not good at it, 2. Though they are good evangelists and dedicated pastors, they have NO teachers. Everywhere we went we were told that we could not teach them anything complicated that they can only understand simple things from the Bible, like Bible stories. So we talked with our host and suggested the idea of starting some Bible studies in the villages. He thought the idea was wonderful and started making arrangements. He said we could teach 2-3 times in each village, but I told him that the people needed a great deal of teaching and that we would need to stay much longer than that.
So within a few days, he had arranged a series of 6 Bible studies in 6 different villages Monday - Friday (there was originally a 7th, but it never got going for some reason). Once we got started it was absolutely clear to me that this was why I was in India. Teaching these wonderful people was sheer joy. Every Bible study was simply wonderful, even though it was so new to them and no one felt very comfortable interacting with me throughout the study. Some examples of how necessary the teaching was--In one place a simple teaching through John 1 that dealt with John the Baptist left people confused. They knew John the Baptist as the man who baptized Jesus, but had no idea that he had any other part in the Bible and so they were confused about why I was talking about John the Baptist doing other things. In another place, people had no idea what temptation was. Once I explained it to them they recognized it, but in this church the pastor had taught them that once you are a Christian you have no more sin, so they had no framework for fighting temptation. But through the Bible studies, God was working mightily in people's hearts. You could see the eagerness in many of their faces to learn more. It was a tremendous blessing just to be a part of this.
I based the need for the studies on the Great Commission. We are ordered to make disciples and to teach them all that Christ had commanded (which I interpret to be the whole Bible). We do not merely make converts, but we teach people the whole counsel of God. We teach them with the object in mind of making them disciple makers who teach others as well. If this is not happening, I don't feel we're really fulfilling the great commission.
In the midst of the joy of these Bible studies we were also learning more about the churches we were in, and not everything we saw was positive, unfortunately. In addition to individual churches teaching something like there is no sin after you are a Christian, there were two things that seemed to be pervasive among the particular churches we were in. First, they were telling people that they should come to Jesus because Jesus will heal them and supply them food to eat. In a land where there is pervasive illness and poverty, this is a powerful attraction for people. So when I first told a Hindu woman who said she would come to Jesus if He healed the pain in her legs that God may not heal the pain in her legs, but he has healed the deadly disease in her heart our host was shocked. 'Always we tell them God will heal them', he said. The Hindu woman seemed uninterested in the condition of her heart. Second, the pastors were careful not to preach anything that would offend people. When during a Bible study someone asked what John the Baptist preached I referenced Matthew where John the Baptist is preaching repentance and calling them a 'brood of vipers'. I stated that often we feel that we can only tell people what they want to hear or they will leave, but John the Baptist preached the truth and people were flocking to him. This caused a great deal of consternation from our host and some other pastors. Our host has forbidden the pastors to work any job outside of the ministry, so they are totally dependent on what the congregation gives to support their families. So I was told that if they know someone is sinning, they cannot preach against it because they will leave and three or more may leave with them. I tried to encourage the pastors to trust God to provide, but many just explained to me that people will leave.
But no church is perfect, right? So we just continued on, trusting that the more teaching people got, the more they would hunger for the truth, creating a pull from the people to hear more of who God really is from their pastors, thus encouraging them to preach more. But after two Bible studies, our host began talking of ending the Bible studies and going to other villages. I was shocked. There was so much to be done where we were. He was especially adamant that one village get cancelled because no one there could read and they would never learn. It became clear that he never intended to have any lasting Bible studies anywhere, and instead would just have us go a few times to each village and leave. Our host is a good man, doing what he considers best according to what he knows, so I will not say much about the situation with him. But it was becoming rapidly clear that we could not work with him any more. And if we broke with our host, we could not work with any of those pastors or churches and would need to leave the village we had moved into. We talked with him again about our concerns, laying out everything and trying to come to an understanding. He was pretty upset, and seemingly completely unable to see what we were talking about.
We consulted with those we trust. We tried to find someone else in India we might could work with. But from our position there in India we were limited, and after our last conversation with our host we felt time might be limited as well. Most of all, we felt God was in this, as confusing and heartbreaking as it was, so we bought plane tickets for America. Jeanette remains behind for a short time and should be coming home soon. Please understand, out of respect for our host I am leaving out many details that would support our decision. But the ultimate turning point on our decision was the confidence that God was directing us back to America at this time. That is what we rest on.
So the Poteet family is now living in Pennsylvania. My former boss had told me that whenever I came back from India I should give him a call and he was encouraging and happy to have me come work for him in Pennsylvania. We are looking for a house, car, pretty much everything :). We would appreciate your continued prayers, especially for Jeanette who isn't home yet. Thank you for your prayers during our time in India. And to avoid ending on sort of a down note, I'd like to tell of some of the things God accomplished while we were there:
- The Child Home now has fans and an inverter to keep them running when the power is out. Having been there with and without the fans, I can tell you the difference is tremendous. There are now about 20 kids who are much less in danger of heat stroke.
- The final Bible study in the village where no one could read and was a waste of our time found a young woman-18 years old-who turned out to be the only woman who could read in the church. She eagerly volunteered to read the Bible to the others in the church who were eager also to gather and hear the Bible read to them. I cannot begin to imagine the impact this will have in this church and in this village.
- Everywhere we went we preached that we should seek Jesus as our treasure, not only the gifts of healing or the provision He might give, but for Jesus Himself.
- At every opportunity the pastors were encouraged to stand firm and trust in God. Some heard and took renewed courage to preach the Word.
- Least importantly, perhaps, God has worked changes in us. We don't come back to America the same people who left for India exactly. Beyond just the overwhelming gratitude for simple things like cold water, we come home with renewed purpose and greater boldness for whatever God has in store for us. If God's grace could bring us through 40 days in India, surely He can carry us through anything we may face in America.
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