Just two months ago, A.L.D. landed on American soil for the first time. After fifteen years of partnering with ServLife to plant churches in his northern India and hosting more than 100 Americans in his own country, A.L.D. touched down in Indianapolis on May 14 ready for a whirlwind mission that would take him and Joel Vestal to nine cities in less than a month.

The tour and its fifteen speaking engagements was, in the words of Vestal, “an amazing chance for folks to experience global community with and through A.L.D.” For more than a decade, ServLife friends had heard about the epic life and work of northern Bihar’s A.L.D. Many had even traveled overseas and met the gentle scholar and leader as he cared for orphans, planted churches and trained young Indian leaders to share the gospel. But seeing A.L.D. up close and personal, hearing his always-calculated, softly accented words, was like hosting the best of India throughout the States. From his stories of India’s often heartbreaking caste system to the perpetual Hindu sacrifices made to lifeless gods, A.L.D. not only gave an account of his people, he demonstrated that Christ’s love could transform his country, one life at a time.

“So many people have prayed for A.L.D., for our work in north India through the years,” Joel Vestal reflected after his friend and colleague was once again homebound. “This has been a great time of personalizing what we’ve heard for so long. We have much to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world.”