I embarked on a trip to India in Nov15-23 2014 with Jack.
There were several reasons that led me to going. I've never traveled to India or Southeast Asia before. I hadn't traveled outside of USA and Taiwan for several years and was curious how different a country that has the 2nd largest population in the world and produce so many talented engineers and computer programmers would compare with the states. I've heard of sign and miracles that happen on these trips as well and was curious if I would have the opportunity to witness some of these events. Pastor Jack had texted me a few months before the trip that he saw God using me for something in the near future so that could have been a sign.
All these reasons built on the decision but the main reason I decided to go was much less romantic.
The main reason was I wanted go to India was really to see how Impact donations were being used. I'm very skeptical towards donations to foreign organizations in general. I knew Impact Harvest Church plant church around the world but I was skeptical on how much work these church's do. I knew people in Impact had kid hearts but I felt uncomfortable donating money to foreign countries. I knew Jack is a man of God but perhaps he may have been tricked into believing his donations were put to use by the locals.
When I went there I did experience culture shock. I did get witness signs through Jack prophesying over people and receiving knowledge from Holy Spirit. The most profound thing I experienced was the heart behind the people who escorted us.
The moment I arrived in New Delhi airport I was greeted with hospitality by R and V. I didn't realize just how much hospitality until we left the airport and took the 9 hour train ride from New Delhi to Kanpur. It was amazing that these guys would take time away from opportunity to work, their own families to escort Jack and me for such distances. The people who escorted us were not affluent. They were all in their early to mid 20s and most of them were parents with young children. They not only rode 9 hours to meet us at the end of the trip R and V rode 9 hours again to send us off to the airport.
The group wanted to form a NGO"none government organization" that is really a church in disguise.
They would meet us in the morning at our host's house, take turns escorting us to various locations with their motorcycles, for prayer visitations, meetings and tours. Then drop us safely home around sunset. One member, A even gave me a tour of his home and introduced me to meet his beautiful wife and baby boy. The condition of his home was something I only saw when I was very little in Southern Taiwan. There were rooms with no lights, exposed plumbing stapled onto the walls, buildings with no roofs, and he did not even live in a slum neighborhood. These people lived on so little and accumulated so little, yet they were willing to give what little they had to further God's kingdom. These people were fired up for God and just needed means and methods to implement their goals.
God not only opened my eyes to the heart of the people involved God showed me to practicality of these NGOs as well. I learned that forming a NGO was a career opportunity for some of these people. What Impact's support does is create a opportunity for these people who would be working in sweat shops and factories to spread the message with the same wage. Locals who didn't have affluent families or connection with higher career paths could never climb out of their economic situation. Many of them literally waste their youth and health doing low wage jobs which they do for the rest of their lives. Many of these jobs are dangerous or hazardous to their health. On the train ride V and R informed me the minimum wage in Kanpur, India is approx. $5 USD per day. They had both worked in factories before and did not want to go back because of the poor working environments, being exposed to chemicals and abusive physical treatment. At A's house I saw his sister making what look like potato balls which his family would sell to make a couple of dollars each day. If she was able to make more than minimum wage selling those potato balls it was a good day.
Because the income to living expense difference between the United States and there is so different we can leverage our donations to do so much more there. Donating $1000 USD per month would be able to employ 6 full time people with a minimum wage job. This allows them to do work that they love while spreading the gospel. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to meet those people and now understand the value of Impacts support for international churches.
-Kevin Kuo