After roughly 38 hours of traveling we finally found our new home and community in Sielmat. First impressions of this town are nothing short of amazing. But I’ll postpone sharing about this place to a later time.
It’s awesome to serve a God that uses unexpected situations for us to further his kingdom. With 57 of us traveling literally to the other side of the world, it’s not a surprise that we stood out. I realize that for the next 11 months there is not really a place where a blonde hair, fair skinned American will fit in. But God’s kingdom on earth doesn’t share that idea.
Throughout our traveling we ran into so many people that were curious about who we were and where we were going. Whether it was the person next to us on the plane, the couple sitting across from us in the food court, or the security working in customs, God used those unexpected situations to further his kingdom.
As a team we were able to pray with a coffee store employee in Atlanta, share the gospel on the plane with a couple traveling to New Delhi, connect with an events planner in Istanbul named Caroline that loves the lord, and meet Aaron who was traveling to India and Nepal to share the gospel in different organizations than ours. And these were only a fraction of the relationships that were fostered by my team mates as we traveled.
Here’s the point, I had the understanding that my mission work was waiting for me in this small rural town at the edge of India, but I soon discovered that my mission is with me wherever I go. Being on missions is not defined by a set of dates but rather a lifetime of work. I’m thankful to God for placing me here in this awesome community and for the work that will be laid out for me by my host, but I am excited for the unexpected situations that are instore for me in the years to come.
Here’s a photo that summed up the beauty of our travel experience. This was taken on our flight from New Delhi to Imphal. We were beyond exhausted and couldn’t wait to lay our heads down in the building we now call home but on this flight one of racers, Meredith, connected with a couple that she was sitting next to and their baby, Elena.
Here’s a little nugget of truth to close everything out. In the great commission that Jesus instructed to his disciples that urges them to go and make disciples of all nations, the two verbs that are most frequently used are “to go” and “to make”. The translation from the original language of this verse has the words “to go” more comparable to “your journey” or “as you travel”. Pretty cool.
