(written on Oct. 1st: first day with ministry contact)
As I type this, it’s almost 11:00pm on a Tuesday. My teammates are sound asleep as I sit hear wondering why I’m here. I’m lying in my tent with sweat drenching my body. My legs are sticking to my sleeping pad and my shirt is soaked. I am miserable.
We just switched continents from Europe to India, and it’s worse than I expected. We arrived at our ministry contact around 2:30pm today. Immediately, we were shown our rooms, to which I thought I could handle. We’re staying in their church sanctuary, which consists of a concrete floor, four walls, and ceiling fans. Thanks god for ceiling fans.
Our first meal was introduced with spicy crunchy things that resembled corn nuts, followed up with copious amounts of white rice, a spicy sauce to cover the rice, and spicy green beans. My stomach churns just thinking about it.
After lunch, we went back to our room/sanctuary to rest my teammates settled in their tents as I laid on the concrete floor under a ceiling fan with arms and legs wide open.
I joked about missing dinner because I knew what would be served: something spicy. As we sat in plastic chairs around our contact, we were handed plates that contained flat, homemade tortillas. I hesitantly put a piece in my mouth, surprised that it was not spicy. My victory was short lived as a thicker, spicier version of vegetable soup was slapped on my plate. After a simple taste test, it received my approval.
After dinner, my team gathers in front of a computer that sat on a cooking pot to watch a movie. We collectively decided that a Christmas movie would be best. Just before the movie was over, the electricity went out, which proved to happen quite often. Tears began to form in my eyes. I choked them back with laughter, scared that my new team would think I’m a pansy. It was all getting to be too much. With the windows shut due to the abundance of mosquitoes and lack of fans, the temperature quickly escalated. The power, thankfully, came back on a few minutes later. I could’ve cried again from joy.
(written 10 days later on Oct. 10th)
I was never too excited for India. It’s always contained two things I dislike: spicy food and heat. I’ve read several blogs and seen several pictures. We’re been taught what is culturally appropriate and what is not. It will be hard, but when Jesus said to follow Him, he didn’t say it would be easy or comfortable.
Our ministry this month consists of visiting a different village each day. In the villages, we make home visits to pray for people. After we’ve visited every house in the village, we head to the local church. We are the service, from singing, to sharing testimonies, to giving the word of god.
Things are good. My team is good. The ministry is good.
After getting over the initial reality shock, I am good. I’m realizing more and more what it means to be a follower of Christ.
