Support Letter For India

When I say to the wicked man, “You will surely die,” and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. Ezekiel 3:18 (NIV)

Then I heard the voice of the LORD calling, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)

I’ve had India on my mind for a long time. When I was nine years old, my siblings and I watched a National Geographic documentary about the country of India. When the movie ended, my siblings walked away, mildly bored. Me, I curled up on my bed, closing my eyes and imagining India. I could see the swirl of red saris, could smell pungent curry, could feel yellow dust motes on my skin.  I could also feel a sense of spiritual darkness like a heavy weight on my back. While I had watched the movie, the many gods had leaped out frighteningly from the screen, scaring me with their oppression and demands. I remember feeling such sadness, that anyone should live or die believing in such dark gods. I wanted someone to tell people in India about Jesus, I didn’t want anyone to die not having at least having been told about the grace and hope of the gospel. “Why don’t you send someone?” I had prayed. Then, even at such a young age I felt God saying back, “If you want people sent, you must be willing to go yourself.”  

          Fourteen years later, I’ve been unexpectedly given my first chance. This November my church, New City Fellowship, is sending a group to Mumbai for our pastors to participate in a Global Leadership Conference. Other members from the church have been asked to come, hoping that we can build a partnership between our church in St. Louis and an New Life Assemblies of God church in Mumbai. This trip is not as much about me going to “do” something. Although I will be interacting with the ministries of the church (There’s a youth ministry in Mumbai’s slums that I’m particularly excited about), my purpose for going is largely to learn more about India and its needs, and building connections and relationships with the hopes of traveling back again later.

          So here’s where you come into the picture. First of all, I need prayer. Lots of it. Like I said before, India is a country in which many spirits and gods are worshiped. My missionary friends who have been to India have told me that these spiritual forces can be felt even physically, manifesting themselves in depression, fear, and anxiety--feeling that I am susceptible to already! Furthermore, while in India I know I will be exposed to some pretty horrifying levels of poverty, which for me has caused almost overwhelming feelings of sadness and helplessness when I've seen it in the past. Pray that God will help me stand strong in spirit while in a spiritually dark country. Pray that God will show me the ways that he is at work in India, even in the midst of heart-breaking poverty. Finally, I still have to raise about 1500 dollars to help finance this trip. Pray that God will provide me with a job to help me raise the rest of the funds, or pray that God will lay it on others hearts to help me raise the rest of the support money for this trip.

          If you feel like God may be leading you to help financially support me in my trip to India, please send a check. Checks should be made out to New City Fellowship with an annotation that the funds should be used for "Renee Badenoch trip to India" in the "for" line. Send money to:
New City Fellowship
1142 Hodiamont
Saint Louis, MO, 63112

In Christ,
Renee Badenoch

PS: Leading up to my trip and on my trip I will be writing regular blogs about my preparation and journey. If you'd like, follow my progress at thereneehope.blogspot.com