As many of you know, but maybe not all, here in New Zealand our team runs an outreach for our local community entitled The Upper Room. It is a weeklysoup kitchen of sorts but with the vision of becoming a daily resource center. Each Thursday afternoon our team plus a couple Kiwis (native New Zealanders) meet at a local church and open our doors to anyone who would like a free (and very good!) meal.

This Thursday I sat down with an Indian man and began to get to know him. He had been walking around the town and one of my teammates approached him and told him about the free lunch so he figured he'd check it out. He relayed to me that he was on holiday visiting his son in Australia and his daughter who worked at the airport here in Auckland. He was interested in where I was from so I began to tell him that I was from America. When he heard this he wanted to know whyI was so far from home. This question always opens the door to tell people about Christ and why I am here in New Zealand. I had no idea if this man was a Hindu or not (nothing a Hindu wears confirms his/her religion -- Sikh's on the other hand wear turbans which obviously mark their religion). I was taking a shot in the dark hoping that this man would be receptive to hearing about Christ. Let me just say, that he was morethan receptive, he already was aChristian!

I have never met a Christian Indian who resides in India so I was very excited to hear about his own life experiences and how living in India as a believer has been. Just recently I read a Voice of the Martyrs update about the situation of Christians in India. According to the Gospel for Asia (GFA), "the level of persecution against Christians in India has reached new levels in early 2006" (Voice of the Martyrs; February 28, 2006). They (the GFA) said that this was due to "Hindutva," which when translated is "Hinduness." Essentially the situation in India is that Hindus are being called to "take up arms" against Christians (Voice of the Martyrs; February 13, 2006). Because of the threat to Christian Indians, I was very intrigued to hear this man's story.

Javee (sounds like Jah-vee) told me about his travels from town to town on the outskirts of Bombay and within Bombay as well. His ministry consists of going into other Brethren churches and speaking the good news to the congregations as well as telling others on the street about Christ. He also told me about his encounters with the Indian government and other Hindus. What I was amazed by was his faith accompanied with the confidence that the Lord is behind him. This face enables him to respond without fear when people try to intimidate him with (what he calls) empty accusations and threats (although I wondered to myself how empty are they??). He quoted the verse from the psalms (Psalm 56:4) to me that says, "In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?"

I could go on and on about his life and experiences of the Lord's greatness, but what I truly got from him was his steadfast faith in the Lord to be his provider. And not just provide food, but truly Javee trusts that the Lord will provide his daily protection as much as his food and shelter. His story continues to challenge me as I think upon the depth of his trust in the Lord, which grows as he continues in his daily life. He doesn't do anything "radical" like others would say, honestly like I might say, but his faith shines like a beacon to me. May we all be like the beacon inside of Javee...