The Picture of Jesus

Last Monday we were able to prayer walk here for the first
time. Prayer walking is hands down, one of my favorite things to do. You really
get to take in the culture and the people around you.

August, one of the guys who works at the Asha House, came
with us. We weren’t going to be walking in the safest of surroundings, so
August was there to look out for us and to translate as well, since everyone speaks
either Bengali or Hindi.

We walked along the slums that were right behind our street,
their living conditions remind me of how blessed I am.

The road was so narrow; we had to walk in pairs in a line to
fit. All the makeshift houses were running together, and there were people
everywhere. They were cooking in the street, letting their little kids run
around without anything on, washing their clothes in an incredibly dirty lake,
or just standing and staring at us.

Hinduism is the main religion in India and it is huge in
Kolkata, which was evident as we walked and saw all the idols that surrounded
us. The farther we went into the slums, the more you could feel the darkness. It
was such a spiritual heaviness; Satan did not want us there, and he made it
clear, as soon as I stepped onto the street I had such a weight on me. None of
us could breathe properly.

But in no way was that going to stop us so we continued walking
and praying. We prayed for the people, for the city, and for the darkness to
leave this place. We prayed that they would know something was different about
us, that we walked in the light of Jesus.

As we walked we were able to lay hands on the sick around
us. August would translate their needs, and we would make a circle and lay hands
on them and pray aloud. When we would finish, we’d look up to see a good 50
people pressed in around us, curious about what was going on. People started
following us as we went from person to person.

Then we went by a temple. It was a little hut with an altar
inside, and had huge speakers in front of it, that played their prayers to
their gods in Hindi. As we walked by, the two guys turned the music up. I loved
it. They could tell we were different, and they were nervous. They started
shouting at August.

As we walked past them, there was a man in the middle of the
street. His arms were outstretched, and he was yelling at us. August told us he
was drunk, and you could tell; I thought he was blind, his eyes were wild. He
came towards us; arms still out stretched, still shouting and tried to push us into
the temple.

Without hesitation, August stepped in front of us and
blocked him. He pushed the guy out of the street, and as he blocked the guy he
turned to us and told us to go by.

 A week later, I still
can’t get that image out of my head.

With his arms stretched out, keeping this man at bay, August
was the picture of Jesus.

Before I accepted Christ, all my sins, all my struggles were
blocking my path to Jesus. They tried to push me back farther and farther away
from Him.

But when I accepted Him everything changed. When I admitted
that I knew Jesus had died, arms outstretched on the cross for my sins, He took
away all my struggles. When I admitted I needed a Savior, that I wanted a
relationship with Him, He took away my sin.

He stepped in front of it all and pushed it out of my life,
blocking it from ever returning again; and now I have a clear path to walk with
Him for the rest of eternity.

And that brings me so much joy.

Without knowing it, August has given me a daily reminder to
what Jesus has done in my life, and I am excited to share what He has done in
my life with the people of Kolkata.