Spirit to Spirit

The hand-held light made a bit of a glow in the dark as the girls on the team carefully made their way on the mud path to the village beyond. Each of us were anticipating what God had for the ladies meeting that night.

The small gathering of women watched us carefully as we approached. We sat down on our chairs. They sat on the ground. We smiled at them. They smiled at us.

We were only there for a short time. But I will never forget it. As we sang songs, shared what the Lord was doing in our lives, and prayed, I felt a strong connection with these precious women. Their glowing eyes lit up the night and they intently tried to relate with what we were saying and singing as we worshiped the same Lord that evening together. I longed to speak directly with them - women to women - but instead we connected that night spirit to spirit.

Parvathi is a "sister" that I also interacted with some in India. She taught me Telugu songs. We laughed and felt sick on the amusement park rides together. She spoke some English so we could communicate some, but so very little compared to how much I wanted to. And yet, we connected. Why is it that whenever we prayed together, even though we would only catch a word here and there, she would cry...and I would cry. What a mystery. Perhaps it was spirit to spirit as we both connected to the Holy Spirit.

Our team traveled around to numerous evening and Sunday services during our two week stay in India. Worshipping with Believers in a country where you cannot understand a word that is spoken is an unforgettable experience.

As a team we enjoyed sweet times of singing our hearts out into the late hours of the night, Sunday worship before church, praying as girls in our room. It wasn't the words or the songs that made them so precious, but He who was present there.

It still bothered me that I couldn't speak with these people in their heart language. But the love of Jesus crosses those barriers...especially when His children are gathered in His name. <><