Several weeks ago, a group of members from six Sovereign Grace churches participated in a twelve-day medical missions trip to India. The team worked with pastors in India and ran several medical camps, serving a total of around 2,500 patients during their time in India. Here’s an update from Steve Bickel, the pastor who led the trip:

We served...doing medical camps both in Ahmedabad and the southern foothills of the state of Gujarat, even going to a few remote areas where the gospel either hasn't been heard and/or there had never been medical camps before....

The team averaged around four hours of sleep per night and the amount of traveling was intense. We traveled mostly by bus and SUV for a total of over 30 hours while in the country. God’s grace and mercy truly allowed us to work those long hours together and to see about 2,500 total patients. We saw many conditions from snake bites to leprosy, HIV to scabies, lice to ear infections....

We are thankful for the opportunity we had to serve in India and also for some, the opportunity to see and experience a new culture. Most importantly though, we were able to help local leaders and pastors spread the Good News, by “softening the ground” for these pastors to go back in the villages and preach the gospel and start new churches.

Praise God for this fruitful trip! Along with Steve, we are grateful for the opportunity this team had to serve the practical needs of the people in India and help pave the way for future gospel ministry.

Photo by Flickr user mckaysavage, licensed under a Creative Commons license.