Aug 11 – Aaron
I met an Indian man today named Aaron who was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. He was very individual and proud of being that way like myself. He had strong opinions and was well educated. He rode a motorbike and loved just going on adventures by himself, as do I.
We had quite a bit in common and started off conversation by him asking why am I here? I told him I am here to tell people about Jesus Christ and show people his love.
He was interested as he knew about the church and “Sunday Christians” but he liked that I was more then that. He knew the difference between knowing Jesus and being religious, and said he was a Christian but didn’t follow the church. I totally agreed with that mentality. I told him I am not part of a denomination either and I follow and know Jesus on a personal level.
We continued to talk and he started opening up, and told me that he believes he can never atone for his sins.
I explained to him that that’s the beauty of Jesus. None of us can atone for our sins and the penalty of all sin is death, regardless of what sin it is. I continued to share with him how Jesus is the only one who can atone for our sins and he loves us so much that he lived a perfect life and then paid that ultimate price for us so we don’t have to pay it anymore. Jesus wants to know us and what’s to be with us. He felt relieved at that and was almost in tears. Then I asked him if he has ever asked Jesus to forgive him of his sins, to which he replied saying no.

I then explained that all he needs to do is confess to Jesus that he is a sinner and ask forgiveness from Jesus, and accept him as his Lord and savior.
He seemed like he was on the edge of his seat waiting for me to ask if he wanted this. So I said, would you like to ask Jesus to come into your life and forgive you for your sins?
He said yes and so we prayed together and he was saved! He felt an overwhelming sense of peace and had a big smile on his face. Now knowing that his sins are forgiven and he is redeemed in Jesus!
We kept talking for a while after that.

It’s not enough to just know who Jesus is. This man was educated and knew who Jesus is but had never asked for forgiveness or for Jesus to be part of his life. He didn’t even know he could.
All we have to do to totally change our lives and eternity is believe that Jesus died for us, confess and ask for forgiveness for sin, and accept Jesus to be in our life.
He is knocking on our hearts just as he was knocking on Aaron’s heart.

We just need to open the door.

Praise God I have a new brother in eternity!

Aug 12
I love kids, as you all would know by now.
Today we went to a school where we saw a mixture of all the kids we had seen in India up to this point. We had a plan but that quickly changed when we saw the environment. Instead, we taught some songs, learned all their names, they taught us a couple songs and we just played for a while. I love teaching them actions to songs.

Then we went to the slums where it is hard to be. There are so many homeless kids that have nobody to teach them anything. We took them for haircuts, then for baths and gave them new clothes and they looked like brand new kids.
After and during all this, I taught them about being clean and how it can change their life. Cleanliness on the streets where we are. (I began cleaning up garbage from the street and without asking, 2 or 3 of them helped and picked up a bunch with me)
Then I taught them that being clean on the outside of our bodies is important to keep from getting sick.
From there, I explained that if we keep our insides clean then that will also keep us healthy and feeling good. But not only our tummies, but also our minds and our hearts. We keep them clean by what we think about and how we treat others. When we show kindness and love to each other, it makes them and us feel good inside and starts to change our lives all around.
I explained how I love my brothers and sisters who were with me and treat them kindly and that I loved the kids also and that is part of why I feel happy and how I stay strong.
Their faces seemed to change while I was talking to be engaged and I feel like it could make a small difference.
We are only here for a short time so it’s not enough to make a large impact but maybe a small one for now and if I come back to live here then a bigger difference can be made.