We are counting down the days until we leave for South Asia for three weeks of ministry among "untouchables". What a human idea. There is no hint of God in that label "untouchable". Jesus seemed to go out of His way to find t he outcasts and rejects of His time. Lepers, prostitutes, half-breeds; He touched them all! What an amazing example He is to us even today.

As we prepare, our focus has turned to 2 Corinthians 2:14.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in   victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume."        

We are called to be the sweet fragrance of Christ everywhere we go. Probably all too often we are not a sweet fragrance but a foul stench of, "I don't have time" or, "You're asking too much". Sometimes it may be just avoiding eye contact, otherwise known as disinterest .

In some places, the rejects of the world are easy to spot. Beggars, drunks, and homeless people are a dime a dozen. In other places, they look different. They may be the elderly, or addicts locked in their houses. Regardless of where you live or where you go, there are "untouchables".

In India, many girls and women wear jasmine in their long, beautiful braids. In a dirty, poverty stricken country, this sweet frangrance is so delightful, filling the air with joy. What a great picture of what we as Christians have been called to be. In a beautiful place full of incredible fragrances, the smell of jasmine might easily be overlooked. But in a small room full of sweaty bodies, the smell of jasmine is so sweet. Though we, as Christians, may not feel like we are as fragrant as a room full of roses, wh en we carry the sweet fragrance of Christ into a foul smelling place, it becomes clear that Jesus has come near.

Please pray for us as we go, that we may smell like Jesus. And we will pray for you, that when you enter those dark, forsaken places, you will be the sweet fragrance of Christ to those that don't know Him.