Our much awaited missions trip to Belapur took place from 23rd to 27th Aug '18. Belapur is a small town in Maharashtra, western India, with a small Christian population. It is faced with great need, both physical and spiritual. Shining the light of hope and truth in this small town is Pastor Elisha Jogdand and his wife Dorothy who were the hosts of our missions team. They pastor Shalom AG Church in Belapur.
The Team
The missions team consisted of 9 members, most of whom could be called "lay" missionaries (working professional from various cities) venturing out on their very first "missions" trip. They were people from all walks of life, united with a mission to reach the unreached and a desire to "move out" of their comfort zones to serve God.
The 4 days started with equipping the church to reach the community, the underlying theme being - the Father's heart, identity in Christ, importance of setting out in faith, walking in the supernatural and revival culture. This was followed by prayer walks, visiting people from house to house, praying for people at church and ended with impartation on the youth on the last day.
Healings, Miracles & Infilling of the Holy Spirit
During one of the days, the team was invited for lunch by a resident. After lunch they worshiped and the owner of the house asked for prayers. One of the prayer requests was for a daughter (picture alongside) who suffered from severe headaches every day. She was at school when the team prayed but they later got reports that she was completely healed the very hour the team had prayed. This testimony reminds us of Mathew Chapter 8 where we see how the the centurion had faith that Jesus could heal his paralyzed servant though his servant was in a different place. Mathew 8:13 "Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment."
One morning, as Zion was ministering to the women in the church, a couple was seen standing outside and staring at the church. They practiced witchcraft. The team continued in prayer and ventured out in the evening for door to door evangelism. God guided them to the doorstep of the very couple!. As they shared the gospel the women and her family were greatly ministered. Later that evening, they came to the church service and received their deliverance.
The lady in the picture alongside was suffering from severe joint pains. Some of the team on the prayed over her and she was instantly healed.
There were many testimonies of salvation, healing, breaking of strongholds and renewal. The team members operated in the gifts of prophecy and healing. Even little children received the anointing as they were prayed for.
Energized & Refueled
However, the biggest testimonies are those of the team members themselves being renewed in faith. They watched God synchronize the events as they took turns to share the word, testify and pray for people. They saw God's hand in bringing Praveen and Priyanka from Bridge House, Hyderabad leading in worship and adoration.
Given below are some testimonies from the team members.
When evening was come, two of the team members who came from Bangalore (Anoop and Blossom) prophesied that I will share about the Father's heart. That made me even more confident with the topic. Praveen and Priyanka lead the worship amazingly followed by testimony by Arun. It happened that day for the first time in my life that when I laid my hands on one of the men I was praying, he was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. It was very new to me and very encouraging that God also works through me. - Anirudh
The Maharashtra mission trip was a real move of God in my life and I was really blessed to be a part of it. People in Belapur were so child like and receptive. This, I think was the main reason for so many miracles.
I, for the first time, shared my testimony publicly which was a move of God alone to testify his glory. And after the service as we all were praying saw people delivered from bondage’s in their minds. Captives were set free as the amazing love of God healed people. - Kishore
Kishore realized that until now he had been living in a "cocoon" but God had called him for a greater purpose. He left the trip with a renewed desire to seek God and decided to pursue 21 days of fasting and prayer.
"I saw the church youth of the just praying continuously for more than one & half hour without any songs! I can’t explain in words the joy that I felt in my soul seeing that! More than what I imparted onto them, their impartation on my spiritual life is greater! I was boosted in my faith. Their lifestyle challenged me to do more for God!" - Joshua
This mission trip was my first and one of the most amazing events of my life. I was able to minister to people and people were moved by Christ. The presence of the father was with us every day especially when we needed him the most. And I would love to attend the next mission and I would suggest join us as well. - Anoop
We are grateful to Pastor Elisha, our host, for providing this opportunity to serve God. Special thanks to our missions coordinator Zion Sharma and to all who were a part of the team.
We will be planning more mission trips in future and will be updating details in the "Events" section of the website. Do contact us if you want to join the team.
God Bless!
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