“Let me be a Vessel” Prayer sees Amazing Answers in India

“I had 2 prayer requests before I left on our 8-day Service Project Trip (STP) to India,” shares Black Forest Academy (BFA) student, Jade. “I was praying, ‘Lord, speak to me” and “let me be a vessel.” 

There were 16 students and 4 adults (2 couples) on the trip to India. They flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Chennai, India. The city of Chennai is on the Bay of Bengal in southeast India, 1760 kms (1100 miles) from New Delhi.  

Once they arrived, the students spent time serving the people in various ministries. One site was a medical camp. Over 300 villagers were waiting for treatment from 1 doctor and 1 dentist. The students all had different jobs. Jade measured the height and weight of the villagers. At another place, STEPS Home for Abandoned Girls, where there were 17 young girls, the students reached out to befriend them. “It felt less like us serving them. It really felt like they served us and partnered with us. It was really great!” The BFA students also went to a handicapped children’s home, “which was a really hard thing to see,” Jade noted. 

The BFA students also spent time at Little Drops Home for Abandoned Elderly. It was here that Jade met a woman who had just had her leg amputated due to worms. Students gave the residents hand massages and painted the women’s nails, then prayed with them. Jade told the older Hindu woman that she was loved. Truly loved. The lady Jade was with cried as Jade prayed for her. “It’s the first time since coming to the home I felt any joy,” the lady shared. 

Jade did not think they would get a second visit to Little Drops, but a few days later they did. At the start of the visit Jade didn’t have a translator. Then one became available to help. Her name was Karu. 

Jade met up again with the elderly amputee. The elderly lady’s ideas about Christianity, “were pretty confused,” Jade shared: “She thought to be a Christian she had to pay money. So I told her, ‘Absolutely not! It’s a free gift!’” The lady also told Jade that she prayed Jade would come back. “That confirmed to me there must be a reason. That God was speaking to me” Jade said. This time Jade shared with the lady that those who put their trust in God and confess Him as Lord, get to spend forever with Him and to know peace and joy.  

Jade then prayed for healing for the woman (so that she could stand up) and that she would come to know the truth about Jesus. “You could tell she just had so much hope. The woman started to pray and was speaking really quickly in Tamil. Then she started to sing,” Jade explained. “While she was praying/singing, I couldn’t understand anything except for the phrase “Nandri appa” (Thank you, Father), and that is when I knew she had put her faith in Christ. Karu then explained the rest of what she had said. She was thanking God and confessing Him as Lord. Jade told the elderly lady that she was now her sister in Christ. 

“I was very emotional,” Jade shared. “I had heard God’s voice clearly, for the first time in months. Something I had been praying for. And He had allowed me to be a vessel in a pretty huge way. It was a testament to God’s perfect timing. I’m so grateful I got to be a witness to it.”

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