Only In India... - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

I gotta say, India was probably in my top 2 or 3 favorite months of the race.

Before I go into details, I have some really good news! As many of you know, I have battled anxiety since I was about 6 years old. I got on medication 2 years ago, but through the healing power of Jesus which came through the prayers of my beloved squadmate and friend Carmen, I was able to release that and quit the medication during our month in Nepal. Praise Jesus! You can read more about that story on Carmen's blog here:
http://carmenthomas.theworldrace.org/?filename=ali-prayer

So our month in India was the first time in 2 years that I was living medication-free and anxiety-free, by God's grace. I had no issues with the feelings of anxiety returning, even when preaching, which is a pretty huge miracle. So that was a major theme of my month.

During this month, we worked with India Gospel Mission (IGM), a ministry that is making a massive impact for the kingdom. I am so blessed to have been able to be a part of it, and to get to work with our contact Joe and his wife Eunice, who are amazing people giving their whole lives for the Lord.

We lived in what was basically an apartment at the IGM headquarters, where the main church and the girls orphanage are located. There are 27 girls who live there currently, and it was awesome to spend time with them and build relationships. They boys orphanage was a little ways away, and there are currently 46 boys there. IGM has supported and cared for 6,000 precious orphans since its inception in the 1980s – they are doing such amazing things!

He are the ministries we took part in during the month:

Painted. Lots of it. We scraped, sanded, puttied, primed, and painted the church sanctuary for much of our month, and then headed over to the boys orphanage to do the same for the new multi-purpose building there.
Visited a branch church about 3 hours away, where Julia and I prayed over a demon possessed woman. That was interesting.
Helped with a free medical clinic in one of the villages, and prayed over all the people who came for treatment. We also did a food distribution there that day.
Handed out tracts in a nearby village, prayed over people who asked us to, and showed the Jesus film where 7 people accepted Christ.
Visited a leper colony where we prayed over people, distributed rice, and showed the Jesus film.
Spent time with the orphan boys and girls and took them to the zoo.

Never before had I…

Gotten stuck in the sand while off-roading on the beach in a pickup SUV and having about 30 Indian dudes help push us out just as the tide was getting way too close.
Given my testimony when it included a complete VICTORY over anxiety.
Experienced the strangest massage of my life…we'll leave out the details on that one.
Eaten the most delicious crab legs EVER.
Become addicted to a substance (Appy Fizz).
Consumed entire meals using my hands.
Been interviewed by an Indian TV news station about my opinion on Valentine's Day in a mall atrium while wearing a saree.
Been eaten alive by thousands of mosquitos at once.
Had a competition to see who could be the first to get 100 people to wave to them while driving (I won).
Had a woman freak out on me at the zoo for taking a picture of a hilarious bathroom sign.
Had all-out photo shoots with random Indian families.
Picked up a random baby in a restaurant and taken pictures with it.
Planned a sermon in a matter of hours rather than a matter of weeks.
Ridden a motorcycle on crazy Indian roads heading towards oncoming traffic (twice).
Swam in the Bay of Bengal.
Seen the [supposed] site of the martyrdom of a disciple (Thomas).
Taken pictures in a saree on train tracks.
Witnessed people be almost beaten to death because they caused a car accident (this happens on the regular in India).
Won all kinds of water contests at the pool: biggest splash, smallest splash, best handstand. I've found my calling.
Drank the best coffee of my life.