This week our Home Group has been volunteering during the evenings at a local Vacation Bible School. The cool part is that it is being organized by an Indian Church that a pastor in our group helped plant. The VBS is at a park (called Ghandi Park by the locals) in the center of nine apartment properties that are predominantly home to Indian families. The Indian community places a very high emphasis on family and education. Most of the adult males are here on temporary work visas and are employed by tech companies.

The Crossroad Church sets up stations with crafts, skits, sports, 2 huge bounce houses and even snacks that groups of children rotate between. It is amazing to see middle school-aged kids shake their head “no” when asked if they’ve ever heard of Jesus. By the end of the night, there were literally hundreds of boys and girls scattered across the park with their parents following behind or watching from a distance.

What an incredible opportunity to be dropped into a totally foreign mission environment in my own back yard, only 15 minutes from my home. Pray that the Gospel would continue to be shared and the truth be heard.

How close are you to an overseas mission trip? Maybe closer than you think.