MUMBAI, INDIA – Volunteer teams are reporting positive encounters as they share their stories and seek people of peace in the streets and slums of Mumbai. The teams arrived in Mumbai earlier this week, and following the principles outlined in Luke 10, they broke into small groups.  With the aid of a translator, they visited different locations within the city, and at the end of the day, each had a story to share.

“We went into a slum and we told our translator to take us to the temple,” *Ethan recalled.

When the team arrived, the door to the temple was locked, but a child found the key and let them in. Once inside, the child set up chairs for the volunteers, and a group of twenty to twenty-five people came into the temple and sat down on the floor.

“I said, ‘Do you want to hear a story?’” Ethan said. The villagers nodded, and for the next several minutes, the team shared stories from the Bible.

“None of them had ever heard the stories of creation, the prodigal son, or the man named Jesus,” Ethan said. “It was a surreal experience.”

From the temple, the team moved deeper into the slum. In one house they met a Christian family. When *Sita, the woman of the house, learned the purpose of their visit, she began taking them from house to house, introducing them to her neighbors. In every home, the team asked, “Do you want to hear a story?”

*Lalit and his wife, *Uma  are Sita’s neighbors. Lalit recently quit his job because of chest pains. As Ethan shared the gospel with Lalit and Uma, the couple paid close attention.

“I asked them if they were interested in what I had to say,” Ethan said, “and they were really excited.” After a little more discussion, both Lalit and Uma prayed to receive Christ.

Another team found openness as they shared on the city streets.

“One man wanted to know what we were doing,” *Juliet said.

When the group explained their purpose, the man said, “Ok. Tell me about Jesus.”

“I was a little hesitant,” Juliet explained. “I mean it was me, a white girl, with this man.”

But the man was insistent. “He told me had been going through a hard time and that he had both a wife and a girlfriend. ‘Nothing gives me peace,’ he said. ‘Please just tell me.’” Juliet recalled.

So Juliet told the man about Jesus.

“When I finished, he said, ‘This is something I want. I want to know Jesus is real.’” Juliet recalled. “He didn’t pray to receive Christ, but I challenged him to pray only to Jesus for two weeks.”

Juliet’s challenge is significant in a Hindu culture that believes Jesus is just one of many gods. Several of the teams encountered this argument as they shared.

“We were talking with a Hindu college student and he told us that all roads lead to the same god and the same place,” Mike said.

Mike laughed as he continued, “I told him I disagreed with that statement.”

As Mike talked with the student, other students gathered to listen and began following that team as they moved from house to house.

“One of the students asked, ‘Can you share this message with all of our friends?’” Mike recalled. “We asked, ‘How many?’ ‘A lot,’ the student said.’”

The team agreed to return to the same place on Friday night to share. At this point, they do not know what that gathering may involve, but they are open and flexible.

All of the volunteers agreed that the level of openness and acceptance they had experienced surprised them.

“Everywhere we went [today] we drew an audience,” James said. “And there was interest in every crowd.”

“We can see the way that God has prepared us, and we can see that God has been preparing these moments for us,” James said. “It is truly a neat thing.”

*some names have been changed for security reasons