South Asia Trip - Water Buffalo

I wanted to give you a report on my recent trip to a country in South Asia.  

 

Our team consisted of two veterinarians including myself, a pastor and and a woman community development worker that worked with the women in the villages.  We partnered with a local pastor and his team of 6 pastors that are committed to reaching Hindu and Muslims living in very poor villages.  All the villages have water buffalo for milk and goats to sell for money.  Water buffalo play an important role in their culture, as chai is the national drink, and buffalo milk is a main ingredient.  The people living in the villages are sharecroppers, so they own no land and are life long indentured workers, almost slaves.  Each village has around 50 families living in dried mud and dung houses with about 100 buffalo, a few cows and 50 goats.  I was asked to set up a program to use agriculture and veterinary medicine as a way to get permission to gain access into the villages and begin a ministry.  Each village is governed by a Village Chief, and one has to have his permission to go to the village.  God opened doors with the Government Diagnostic Laboratory, vaccine factory and multiple veterinarians who even though they are Hindu or Muslim are willing to help us do animal training and treatments in these  villages.  I have laid out a 3 year plan and have committed to return at least 2 more times. The pastors are our translators and will be able to return for discipleship after our visits.  This keeps us under the radar of the Muslim  government with regards to openly witnessing as it is illegal to proselytize. 

The plan is to go back in January and vaccinate the animals for several diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease, that periodically causes outbreaks that severely affect the animals.  We will also be providing some basic animal health training with the farmers.  Each of these visits provides additional opportunities for spiritual follow-up by the local ministry team.

 

Please pray for our team as we show the love of Jesus to these villagers that have never heard the name of Jesus before.  While there are great physical needs, this is a country that is 95% Muslim with even greater spiritual needs.