I hear it all the time: ”You are the first foreigner to ever visit our village.” (Usually means I am the first Christian there, too, very cool.) “I am the first Christian in my village.” “I am the first Christian in my family.” “This is the first house church in this area.” This is the first prayer hall that will ever be built in this region.” “This is the first time we have ever had a pastors conference bringing the leaders together in unity.” “This is the first time we have ever had a healing and revival conference in a CNI church.”                                                 

It is a great honor to be a part of firsts…helping to establish things that have not been done before. This is one of the ways God has been using this ministry. As He unfolds His strategy, He leads us into regions full of unreached people groups and uses us to bring spiritual breakthrough…to create a starting point from which the Kingdom of God can take root, and grow.

But first we PRAY. This is always Gods strategy…to pray. We prayer walk temples,, high places and spiritual power points. We walk and pray, drive and pray, ride motorcycles and pray, climb mountains and pray, stand on roof tops and pray. We pray…and God moves. At times God has taken me into a city or a region where I knew no one. I was just sent there to pray. And now, within a year or less of being there, I am being invited to come back into those cities to hold healing and revival conferences, encouraging and strengthening the churches. Is this just a coincidence? I think not! Prayer moves God. Prayer opens up unreached territories. Prayer is always FIRST.

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It fills you with wonder to see God’s strategy unfold…to stand in amazement knowing that what is happening is not due to anything you had planned.                                    

Our October trip included 5 days for a SEAPC prayer-focused conference in Hong Kong, a 5-day “intro to India” for Jan (another “first”) including various ministry opportunities (see her “Taste of Asia” article on website), an Intercessors conference in Delhi, several days praying and ministering in remote villages, and a weekend in the Kashmir region.

This was my fourth journey to this interesting area of north India. The first time we went there to pray, knowing no one. The second time we went to pray and met one key man. The third time we went I was asked to preach at the Anglican Church. Now, for my fourth trip I was invited to conduct a 3 day healing and revival conference for all the Christians in this area. It’s an amazing thing to see what God opens for those who simply go…and pray.

But what makes this even more significant is the location of this city. It sits near the Pakistani border.  It is known as a hot spot for militant extremism. It is 99.9% Muslim and the few Christians remaining are highly persecuted. It was in this place that God invited us to come walk with Him and pray…where He asked us to come and minister to His people…loving them, encouraging them, healing them, giving them new faith and vision.   

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by Jan Taylor

The Lord blessed me with the chance to join Dan on a ministry trip to Hong Kong and India last month…the first time I’ve traveled with him to Asia, and the first time I’ve traveled this far! I want to say THANK YOU for all the prayers…God’s grace was so evident throughout the trip. My flesh did not look forward to the long flights and adjusting to new cultures, dealing with jet lag, etc. But my spirit got the last word…or should I say the Holy Spirit!

Our first 5 days were in Hong Kong for a missions conference through SEAPC (SouthEast Asia Prayer Center), and we were not only blessed to reunite with some wonderful folks, but had the chance to meet and pray with some of God’s frontline generals from many Asia nations. Since we’re focused on India, it was especially a blessing to get to know Madhu Bala, a woman who ministers amongst the poor in Hyderabad. What a powerhouse intercessor she is as well. And it was a joy to spend 3 days with our daughter, Jenni, who teaches English in Shanghai…she came up during her holiday.

If I thought the first 5 days were a blur of activity, sights, sounds and smells of a new culture, there’s just no comparison with the next 5! Most of my pics of India were outside a car window going pretty fast up or down the mountain roads. We were always on our way somewhere…to visit believers in their homes…to pray…to attend events…to share the gospel…to minister in church. And always to have tea, and usually to eat! I was blessed by the hospitality and the love of the people. I was honored to be among such humble believers and pray with and for them.

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Submitted by Mandy Zimmerman, a member of our U.S. team from August, 2015 trip:

The first few days in India, I found myself often asking God, “What am I doing here?” It wasn’t until I was home for several days that God began to weave pieces together in my heart.

The children.

Having four children myself and having been involved in Children’s Church, school activities and child care, I naturally lean toward children. While conducting conferences in Kullu, I noticed I got very little attention from the children. As they would walk by me, I would stare longingly at them with a smile, waiting on one glance my way.

When we got to Palampur, we were greeted by children who were alive and spurred by the love of Christ. I was in awe that they seemed to be the center of the ministry. The church would often go to children for prayer. Then at a tea plantation, we were met by children who stared longingly but showed little emotion when reached out to. I scooped up a little girl and planted her on my lap during our visit. She sat, singing songs and listening but neither offering nor receiving affection.

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Submitted by Shema, who has been our co-leader on several missions trips, as well as our worship leader and interpreter.  A report from the August, 2015 trip:

September 2014. Tamanna is a little girl maybe 8 years old, with the sweetest smile. Her name is means ‘desire’. But how much of her name will she live up to is uncertain. While other kids run around and play, Tamanna has bigger problems. A faulty heart and surgery before she reached 10, to name a few. And even then the doctors don’t seem very hopeful. Tamanna and her mom met a bunch of us, quite by chance actually. They were not Christians when they met us but we didn’t know that. Not that it mattered. We were all cramped into a little room somewhere in the Kullu valley when we heard of her heart condition. So we prayed. There was a thick heavy presence in the room that day as we prayed and prophesied over Tamanna’s little heart. Glory was in the room that day. Healing was in the room.

Move ahead to August 2015. There are a bunch of kids at the conference. They’re doing what kids do. Dancing during worship, playing during the preaching, gawking during ministry time as people are falling over, and then taking pictures with everyone. I can barely recognize Tamanna. I had to ask someone to make sure. And this is what I hear: Tamanna has been given a clear report by the doctors when she had a major check-up in March. What I heard next blew me away! So she and her mom were not Christians when they met us the previous year. But since that day, they believed a miracle had happened and they began coming to the Lord. Today they are strong believers sharing the Word with boldness and conviction!

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Our wonderful trip ended with an incredible weekend of ministry in Shimla. Mushtaq invited us to conduct a 3 day conference at Christ Church. This is a very traditional Anglican church that is 150 years old. I must say I felt more comfortable being in the villages than in this very formal religious setting. Mushtaq had advertised the meetings as a 3 day Healing and Revival conference…and that is exactly what God did.

The first night there were over 200 people…a large crowd for north India. When we invited people to come forward for prayer there were some who literally ran to the front. God poured out His Spirit so wonderfully as the people filled the aisles and the front of the church wanting to receive prayer.

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