A persistant India

The stark contrast between India and the United States hit me as I left the Hyderbad airport on Saturday morning at 4a.m. After retrieving our luggage we left the terminal to find our vans to take us to our hotel. The sweet smell of spices filled my nose as I entered the early morning, pre-dawn air. A crowd of people stood in front of us behind a railing waiting for their friends. The noise of traffic, honking, and people talking was incessant. As we walked toward the cars, a woman approached me, hands cupped in front of her, 'Sir, sir, sir, sir..." she kep repeating. I made eye contact with her and shook my head telling her I had nothing to give her. She followed me to the car, "Sir, sir, sir..." When I stopped, she stopped. When I walked, she walked. There was confusion about our cars so we stood waiting, and so did the woman. "Sir, sir, sir..." Finally, an Indian woman with us who met us at the airport asked her to leave. She did. But another woman, a Muslim woman came up, "Sir, sir, sir...please sir..." She was dressed in head to toe in black, and because of her head and facial covering I could only see her eyes. I got into the van in the front seat, window rolled down. She came to the window, "Sir, sir..." Her hands now on the door frame, she reaches in to tap my arm. My eyes are fixed forward. The van starts to ease slowly into traffic and she walks along side still begging. Finally as we pick up speed I am removed from the Muslim woman. Welcome to India.
There is no judgment from me on the two women. They were doing what they do at the airport. I wonder if I have the same persistant spirit in prayer? If God doesn't answer my prayer, do I keep asking? Do I keep walking with Him?

Last night over dinner, we were talking with an Indian Lutheran pastor about how Hindu people come to convert to Christianity. He told us a story. A family came to him with their mother/wife who had been sick for sometime, and the doctor had just told her she only had a few days to live. They had been to mystics, prayed to their gods, and consulted medical professionals, but none had helped. "Pastor, you are our last resort. Will you pray for her? If she gets better, we will start coming to church." So the pastor and the church began praying for the woman...for seven weeks. One day each week people would fast and pray with the woman, in her home, from 10am-4pm. So they prayed daily for seven weeks, and fasted a total of seven days. She lives today, she and her family were baptized, and is active in the congregation in which this pastor serves. We hope to meet her while we are here. The story really has two miracles: the woman's healing and the church's persistant prayer. Would we as a church in America persist or give up? I can't even imagine praying for one person for seven hours, let alone seven days and weeks. Seven minutes, yes, but seven weeks. What a wonderful example of God at work, and of faithfulness and persistance and love for a sick woman and her family. Praise God.