Well, I am finally here. I got into the Delhi airport from Bangkok, Thailand at 9 PM on Tuesday, March 10. It was a long haul here of 30 hours aboard 3 different flights. I had originally been booked on Emirates but when the Iran bombing began I, through the wise counsel of friends and my lovely wife, decided to book on an Asian carrier and take the Pacific route. So I was on Eva Air: Seattle to Taipei, Taipei to Bangkok, Bangkok to Delhi. Since I don’t sleep well on the flights, I was pretty tired out and took Wednesday to get ready for the day of ministry on Thursday.
Yesterday, Thursday March 12, I spent the day with the leaders and students of Harvest Mission to the Unreached. I have been working with them for almost 20 years and have always loved their ministry and the pastors and leaders. They picked me up at the hotel and drove out to the venue, the Campus Crusade for Christ compound about 30 minutes from the hotel. HMU had been holding conferences there for many years. I hadn’t been there since 2020 due to the pandemic and the evolving political situation as it relates to religion. So, it is good to be back on familiar territory.
The plans for the day were for me to teach a select group of leaders in the morning and then participate in a graduation ceremony from their Calvary School of Harvest in the afternoon.
I enjoyed the hour or so with them in the morning. In spite of the tiredness, I felt strong and able to deliver a pertinent message to the leaders. After taking a break, we assembled again in order to have the graduation ceremony. There were about 25 graduating, most with Bachelor of Theology degrees. Their graduation ceremonies are dignified, and we who led the ceremony as well as the graduates donned the appropriate caps and gowns.
There was a bit of music and worship at the beginning, led by a man named Bijou, who had been at most every conference and gathering I had ever participated in with HMU in India. He is a gifted musician and worship leader and it was like old times. After introductions and a couple of speeches, it was my time to bring a message to the grads. I was told that I had 15 minutes, and thanks to the stopwatch on my Apple watch, I kept it within that time frame! I talked about what the future may hold for them going forward from school, among other things. Then it came time to hand out the degrees. As each person was called forward, Pastor Saji handed the certificates to each of them, and then I handed each of them a gift from HMU, a set of 3 books to continue their learning. There was a professional photographer there and as each person was handed the certificate and then the books, we posed for the photo. We all then stood or sat on the stage for a group photo.
After a time of prayer and thanksgiving, the ceremony concluded. As is always the case, when we all went outdoors, there was about an hour of group photos, students wanting a photo with many of us who are the leaders. It was a joyous occasion and I am thankful to have been a part of it all.
So, in a few hours I will take the flight to Kathmandu for a week of ministry there. Among other things, I will be teaching at a 3-day conference for HMU Nepal in the hills outside of Kathmandu. Looking forward to it. I will try and post photos in the next couple of days.
Thank you for the prayers. Please keep them up!
David