By Torie Speicher*
- Jason Black, Ginger Wallace and Susan Martin surrounded one patient in prayers to the Father on her behalf. Putting a hand on someone’s back to pray for her may seem like a small thing, but to a group of people whose culture considers them untouchable, it was a very practical way to share the love of Christ.
INDIA–The woman sat on the floor, swaying back and forth. She stared off into space, engulfed in a trance. Gibberish flowed out of the Indian woman’s mouth, her circular motion gaining momentum.
Onlookers nodded in understanding; they had seen this demon possess their friend many times. But for the Tennessee volunteer mission team representing five Knoxville, Tenn., churches, this was new. All they knew to do was circle around the woman and pray. A representative of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board led in prayer and the volunteers quickly joined in. Soon, their prayers turned to singing.
The woman swayed faster and faster and then abruptly stopped. She opened her eyes. They were clear. She was no longer in the trance. God had delivered her.
God still uses prayer to accomplish His work. It is among the most powerful things a Christian can offer someone, especially in Indian villages like this one.
Through experiences like the demon-possessed woman, Susan Martin, a behavioral specialist and a member of Wallace Memorial Baptist Church, realized that God still performs miracles and that she has a lot to learn about His greatness.
“I am overwhelmed with the depth of God’s goodness we experienced throughout the week,” Martin said about working in some of the poorest villages in India through mobile medical clinics.
For one week, the team piled into cars and bounced along bumpy dirt roads to outlying villages. Volunteers offered dental extractions, physical consultations and pharmacy services, while others prayed and shared Bible stories.
Some people visiting the mobile clinic had never even seen a doctor. Dr. William Black, a member of Smithwood Baptist Church, said God used the health clinic to bring not only physical healing but spiritual comfort as well.
The volunteers addressed more than immediate social needs through the medical clinics. They asked God to move and do the work that only He can do.
“If we’re just doing good works, we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” Teena Branson, a medical assistant from Centre Pointe Baptist Church, said, alluding to the team’s joint effort of sharing Jesus with everyone with whom they came in contact.
- Village elders waited for their turn to see the doctor, while curiously enjoying the chaos of the clinic.
Crowds of villagers gathered around the medical tent, curious about not only the clinics but also the strangers visiting their village.
Jason Black, a mechanic and a member of High Ridge Baptist Church in Kingston, Tenn., tried to make friends in the makeshift pharmacy where he volunteered. As individuals came through his workstation, he prayed for them — sometimes aloud but more often silently.
At times, the surroundings were so public that the Hindu patients would not allow Christians to pray for fear of what other villagers might think. So Martin or the IMB representative instead shared stories from the Bible with the waiting crowd. For many, it was the first time they had heard Jesus’ name or any of the stories.
- Bending over in unnatural positions without proper dental equipment was a small sacrifice Dr. Williams made to care for children and adults in need of dental care.
Wallace Memorial Baptist Church members Ginger Wallace, a music assistant, and Dr. Tim Williams, a dentist, said they struggled with the language barrier as they interacted with Indian people. Wallace said despite not being able to understand, she knew the Holy Spirit continually interceded for her and the rest of the volunteers. Williams said his frustrations came when he tried to share his faith verbally.
“It’s hard to share my faith … (the way I wanted to),” Williams added. “But it is not hard to pray for them or show them God’s love.”
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*Name changed.
Torie Speicher is a writer serving among South Asian peoples as a volunteer with International Mission Board.