Overview of Month Three: India
I came to India with high expectations that God would do something amazing. As we traveled to the small village that we would live in, I wondered what sort of adventure the Lord had for me this month. Every single one of my expectations was exceeded here as I fell more in love with India and Jesus each day. I expected before I came on the world race that there would be countries that I would feel hopelessly in love with and pray that God would make away for me to return. India is definitely one of them. Here are the highlights, challenges, and specifics of the month.
Highlights:
My lady teammates and I were so excited to get Indian clothes when we arrived and our village friends were even more excited to help us pick them out and teach us how to wear them. When we brought our sari’s home, we were ushered into our pastor’s home and the pastor’s wife and sisters excitedly rushed to help us put them on. There was no privacy or touching boundaries and we felt a bit awkward and violated, but I know this moment will be one I look back at and love about this month. These ladies were so excited to be a part of our first sari experience and they showed us love by helping us learn about their culture.
The second week here, my team and I took a three day trip to a village that was far away from where we stayed. We were able to stay the night with a host family who took wonderful care of us and took time off of work and school to get to know us. The second day there, they took us to a huge river with a dam and waterfall. We swam with the Indian pastor and the host family, laughing and bonding together. This moment will always be a special memory in my mind from India, feeling so at home and comfortable with these people who welcomed me into their family.
One afternoon my team and I were riding a tuktuk (small open aired taxi vehicle) heading to our next ministry location. We spotted a man who was pushing a cart filled with icecream cones. Dave and Doug from my team immediately jumped out of the tuktuk and started running down the street at the man with the icecream yelling “Stop Stop Stop! We need icecream!” The girls and I laughed so hard watching the boys run after the cart causing a huge scene in the middle of the street. We talked about “you know you are on the world race when… icecream is worth risking your life.”
On the last Sunday in our village, my teammates and I preformed a foot washing service for our church members. We first gave a testimony about the beautiful picture of love that these people had painted for us and how much we would miss them. I began to cry as I looked out into the crowd and told them I would never forget the way they loved me and made me feel like family. We sat down our pastor and his wife, washing their feet and praying over them. The entire church followed after, and many cried while giving us huge hugs and kisses on our cheeks.
Challenges:
On the second week in India, I caught a virus from bacteria and was really sick. I had a high fever and could not keep even water down for two days. At three in the morning after being sick for 48 hours, my team decided it would be best to go to the hospital. The village was worried and sent three pastors with me and my team leader Doug. The hospital was not clean and the doctor could not understand any English, but I got some medicine and started to feel better a day later. It was challenging to not have a bed to sleep in or a cool room to sit in when I was sick, but everyone around me did their best to help me feel as good as I could.
One afternoon traveling to a ministry location, we made a stop at a home to pray for a man that they said was crazy. We were told that this man was insane and really stupid. I stood there ready to pray when a beautiful 20 year old down syndrome boy walked up to us. This was the man they talked about. The mother kept repeating that he was insane and crazy and they wanted us to pray that God would heal him. I felt so burdened and frustrated for this child who grew up never being accepted even by his family and told over and over that he is crazy. I was able to tell the mother that her son was created by God different and that he was perfect the way that he was. She did not believe me. It was challenging this month to encounter people who do not understand disability and mock and hate the people who need love the most.
Specifics:
Our month in the village was a beautiful, unforgettable adventure. We lived on a roof in our tents. We ate delicious Indian food prepared by the ladies in our village for every meal. The food was basically the same every meal. We ate chapati (naan), curried veggies or chicken, rice, and curd, which tastes like a mixture between sour cream and yogurt and it comes from buffalo milk. We ate dinner at 10pm every night and it took some getting used to. We traveled around like the Indians, all packed into a vehicle sitting on each others laps. We conducted multiple church services every day and each service went for about two hours except for Sunday which is a four hour service.
Funny things I learned in India:
Babies in villages are really afraid of white people and will cry like crazy when they see you and even harder if you try to touch them.
If you are sweaty (which is 99% of the time) or your hair is messy, Indians will insist you look horrible and help you wash your face and comb your hair. This can happen all day long.
Indians love to watch white people sleep, eat, and yes, even go to the bathroom. I learned quickly to take a friend to guard the door of the sqatty potty.
Indians like everything loud. A microphone is needed even if you are in a tiny concrete building and everyone can hear you without one.
Abby- getting excited for month four in Nepal!
