“I can’t believe I’m not crying,” Rachel, a YWAM DTS student, said to me. “I always cry when I tell this story.”

Our YWAM DTS team in India has a half-hour to get to a sketchy internet café, making updates difficult, so I decided to call and see how things were going. When I did, they immediately passed the phone to Rachel so she could tell me about Silvia.

“It was our last day in Madurai,” Rachel began, “And the YWAM missionaries there took us to a village where we met this girl. She’s 17 years old and from a family of five. Her parents made her quit school after 5th grade to help take care of her little brother, so she can’t read. Ever since she was 15, she’s been working to support her family.”

As Rachel continued her story, her voice grew more impassioned. I could hear her concern for her Indian friend, even over a fuzzy international connection. I could feel her righteous indignation across the time zones.

“Silvia’s dad drinks all the time. That’s where all the family’s money goes – to buy him alcohol. And he gets really mad and abuses them. Silvia has been sick for a long time. The doctor told her she has stomach ulcers and that there’s a way to fix it. But the family won’t spend money on it, so she’s still sick.”

I could picture Silvia in my head – sick, but still working hard, bringing in money for her father to drink away. I thought of how many others there are like her across the nation of India, taken advantage of by those who should be taking care of them.

“There are several houses surrounding Silvia’s family,” Rachel went on. “And she’s the only Christian in the whole neighborhood. She has faith in God and prays, but she shared with us that she struggles sometimes when she doesn’t see her prayers answered.” I heard Rachel’s voice soften with awe. “It’s so cool that God brought us to her – the only Christian in her area – so we could pray with her.”

We often call them “divine appointments” – opportunities to minister to someone that only God could have orchestrated. And it’s just like God to use the testimonies and prayers of ordinary people like our YWAM DTS students to bring hope and encouragement to one of His daughters on the other side of the world.

Our YWAM DTS team is seeing God change people’s lives in Cape Town. Here’s one of their stories:

Several weeks ago I met a lady in a slum where we’ve been working. She was very sick and was on her way to the doctor, as she thought she had pneumonia. We stopped in the sandy, trash-filled street, laid hands on her, and prayed. As I prayed she began to cry. We asked her what she was feeling and she was speechless. We left trusting that God had moved in her.

Roughly a week later we went back to visit and I was amazed at how different she was!  She told us the story of her week, how she had felt completely better after we prayed but went to the doctor anyway.  The doctor took her off medication and said she was totally fine! She said she can walk far distances and not get tired and she doesn’t have a cough any more. She thanked Jesus and we were able to continue to go back and visit her and share more about Jesus.

And that’s not all: another of my team members led her husband to the Lord on one of those visits. He had been a Muslim!

It’s been great to see God move in so many ways. Out of just four weeks of work in this neighborhood, a church is being planted!  We’ve already met a few times for worship and Bible study. Lives are being changed here for the Kingdom and it’s so amazing to be a part of it!

The YWAM DTS missions teams are in their final week of ministry. Pray that lives will continue to be changed!