In looking back on the past year I can see how the many friends I made, here and the experience (some pleasant and some not so pleasant) we shared were part of God’s plan to help me grow in my faith and to be able to share it with others openly.

One of the first ways I see how my faith has grown is in the way I look at poverty and the poor, which are so rampant here in India, and that I see everyday. I know realize that there is deeper reason and cause for a person begging on the streets other than laziness which many politicians would like us to think is the real reason. The main reason for poverty here in India is the oppression of the lower-castes, Dalits or Untouchables who were not given any education and were kept in low paying jobs until recently so the high caste people could rule the county. In seeing India’s poverty I now understand what Jesus was saying when he said "you will always have the poor with you". I believe the poor are here to convince us to do our Christian duty by putting a faith into practice and entering into their suffering with them.

The second way is in the way I know feel comfortable sharing my faith with others. This process started by discussing my beliefs and theology with roommates and friends and has now extended to the point where the morning devotions I give at HMI, when it is my turn, have become longer and more Biblical, and in fact I am now scheduled to preach the sermon at the Lutheran Church of Hyderabad, on my second to last Sunday in Hyderabad.

The next way my faith in Christ has grown and been influenced by my time here in India, is by seeing the spirituality of the Indian people and how they translate their faith into action and love for others. I have now tried to do this in my own life by making more time for prayer in my day and also trying to be Christian in my actions and reactions towards people. I admit that sometimes I do not always succeed in this.

The fourth way in which I see how my faith has grown during my time here in India is that I now find it easier to put my trust in God for all things because I know that he is present with me through his holy spirit and know that he will work all things for good. I say this with hindsight because I know he was with me during my first month in India, when I was not in a good roommate situation and that he finally worked a situation out where I moved in with an Indian family and HMI students and experienced the Indian culture more fully while making new friends.

In conclusion I pray, that the during the course of my time here in India, and in the course of my growing faith, that I have planted the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of non-Christian people here in India, that the Holy Spirit will nurture and that God will harvest later. I also pray, that I have been a good Ambassador of Christ, Bethel, and the ELCA during my time here in India as a Volunteer Missionary.

In The Service of Christ,

Rich Hahn