It felt like déjà vu all over again as we left Shimla and began to make our way toward Kaza. The first night we stayed at the same hotel as the trip two years ago and I stayed in the same room looking out at the same mountain as before.

Previously, Ishan refused to even think about going back to Kaza because that was where we were going when we had the accident. In fact, when he heard I was coming to India he was filled with dread. He felt so much guilt that he did not want to face me. But suddenly God changed his heart, and he wanted to come with us.

We left the hotel early in the morning and within a few hours we came to the location of the motorcycle crash that happened on that previous trip.

We all stood at this place of past pain and trauma and thanked God that Ishan and I were still alive.

I placed my arm around Ishan’s shoulders and said, “Ishan, you made a mistake. We all make mistakes. I have made a thousand of them, but I need you to know I totally forgive you. I hold nothing against you, and I have absolutely no regrets about what happened. I would not change these last two years for anything. So, please let God remove your shame and guilt and take your position as a man of God once again. Don’t let any of the past keep you from being less than what God created you to be! You are completely forgiven!”

Ishan held me tight and wept deeply…and I wept with him. At that moment the guilt was gone. The shame lifted and Ishan was totally redeemed.

It was a powerful reminder that forgiveness can set the captive free. Ishan just needed to know he was loved and he was forgiven and that moment erased two years of self-hatred and torment of his soul.

Our team took communion at that spot and remembered what Jesus did to forgive us. Shema took a large rock and set it up as an altar of remembrance and poured a bottle of oil over it.

Dinu, Ashish, Samson, Ishan and I had all experienced that accident together.  We now held each other and thanked God for His faithfulness. If I had gone to India for no other reason than see Ishan redeemed, the entire trip would have been worth it.

Is there someone you need to forgive? Forgiveness can set the captive free, and sometimes that captive can be you.