Hi Everyone!
This month my team and I are working with Covenant Children’s Home based out of Hyderabad, India. They have 70+ orphanages all across the country and I am privileged enough to get to visit 4 of them. One each week! We live in the home doing evangelism, games, art, and worship. We also get to bless the homes with a hand painted mural in the children’s bedrooms! So much fun!!
Village life looks a bit different than life in the states. There is no running water, toilets or electricity. Although most of the homes are wired for electricity, the government shuts power down for the majority of the days and nights. The days get above 100F and it feels like a sauna even in the shade of one of India’s beautiful palm trees!! So after a long day of hard work, kids and sweating; a nice 5 gallon bucket of water is your shower. I have perfected the 10 minute bucket shower. I have also perfected the “4th day hair”. I make it look gooooood….
Life in India has really challenged me. It is almost completely opposite of everything I have ever known. Life is slow with no emphasis on time or efficiency. They value enjoyment over efficiency. This idea is hard for me because I get enjoyment out of efficiency; its what makes me happy!!! Another challenge is food shaming. The struggle is real people. The way Indian culture loves people is by serving. The women are not allowed to eat with anyone in the home. They cook and serve their family and guests first and then retreat to the kitchen after everything is completed to consume their food alone. The woman of the home stands and watches you eat to make sure you have an enjoyable experience. After I have eaten what she has dished out to me (out of respect), which is an unfathomable amount of food smothered in the worlds hottest curry, my body begins to hunch over and my pants are physically tighter. I have food up to my throat. After all of this, she takes the bowl of rice, walks over to you and insists you have more. If you decline, it says to her “I don’t like your food”. She then gets her feelings hurt and moves away. The woman’s heart is to serve, she is doing her best to make me comfortable and happy. But how can making me sick and, on many occasions vomit because of fullness, accomplish either of these goals. Driving in India is another area of mass chaos. Although the lines and lights are properly marked on the roads of the city, no one follows them. There are many accidents, injuries and even deaths because of the unwillingness to follow order on the road. It’s just their culture.
Many things here are blanketed with the phrase, “it’s just their culture”. To me, this just doesn’t make sense, something is missing. I’m fine with the country enjoying large portions and not wearing a watch and driving like a lunatic in a video game. Let’s all indulge ourselves, hallelujah. However, where is the line of dangerously resisting progress. When do we stop blanketing these occurrences with “differences in culture” and start labeling them as “the reason for the lack of progress”? I believe one deep seeded reason, among many, that the impoverished countries of the world are underdeveloped is because they are afraid of any form of change and they resist progress and creativity in the name of “preserving culture.” How can we expect restoration of a country who resists it?
The only answer I have come up with is Jesus. Slowly but surely the name of Jesus is being released into all parts of India and the hearts of the people are beginning to soften. They are beginning to see how love, honor and joy in the name of Jesus can transform their communities. We as missionaries cannot change the ideas held by the people of a country for generations. We cannot “convince” people to leave their moral belief system they have had their entire lives and follow Jesus in a matter of a week. Honestly, as a missionary, I can’t do much.
It was at this moment last week that I had a light bulb go off. I am not a missionary; my focus is not on a mission.
My focus is on Jesus and His kingdom; I’m a kingdom bringer.
I would like to give to you a number representing the people I have personally brought to Jesus. I would like to have tangible things to show my community back home the “good works” I’m doing; but I don’t have it. I would like to have control over my success, but I don’t have that either. I don’t have numbers or estimates. I have experiences. It was this month that I realized it had nothing to do with numbers, success or pride. It had nothing to do with what I showed people back home. It did however, have everything to do with what I showed people in India. What am I showing today, exactly where I am? What am I bringing forward each and every day?
I am not showing progress of a mission; I am showing Jesus to the children of India.
