Well, India is now in the past, but I can’t help but let it continue to resonate in my mind. Looking back at it, it was a confusing month, in the spiritual aspects of things. In India it was “all squad month” which means it was the entire squad in one building instead of just my team. I was super excited to spend the month with all the amazing people I met at training camp, but our schedule made it not look like I had envisioned it. But then again, how often does God play things out the way we picture them going? God’s plans and lessons are so far above our intelligence or expectations that there is absolutely no way we could plan out an entire month the way Christ would have it.
For the first part of the month I was very distracted with personal discomforts, difference in some personalities, and the immature thought of “this is not how IIII pictured this month being”. I thought all squad month would be nothing but fun times and the picture perfect ministries. The truth is, it was both of those things, but I chose to let that slip through my fingers for the first part of the month. After I cleared some stuff with some people and had some serious one on one time with God, I ha a complete change of heart. even though it was all aqua month, all of the teams ha separate ministries. Our team was doing a couple hours of construction (which got frustrating itself at times with the lack of time and what they were actually wanting us to do)and then we would go to a village from about 4-10pm and pray for people and play with the children. Now, me personally, I absolutely love kids and is a big passion of mine, an even though I was going to these villages and having laughs with these kids, it was more of them bringing joy to me when I should be the one bringing them joy. After I got things cleared up in my head and my heart I was really able to see what amazing people God was putting in my life. I could feel a definite change in how the kids interacted with me when I pursued their happiness and not the other way around.
Even though I had an amazing last two weeks in India, I can’t help but wonder what I may have missed out on the first couple of weeks there. Or what impact me or my team could have made if I wasn’t in a spiritual battle with myself. India is a place that has so much need for Christ and a need for just flat out love. On our last day there i got to go along with some people from other teams to say goodbye to the homes they were working at for the month. They were homes of young boys and girls with physical and mental disabilities. I had the privilege of meeting two amazing women from America that have dedicated at least a large portion of their lives to working with a house full of these girls with disabilities. But when people from my squad were saying goodbye to these kids, and just the very very short time I got to meet these kids, they started to cry and it honestly brought some tears to my eyes. Seeing what amazing relationships they have built with these children who are normally shunned by Indian culture.
We are now in Thailand, and this is a country that I was really looking forward to working with. The amount of sex trafficking and prostitution that captures young girls here is sickening and even though we are not really doing anything with that this month, it is something that…. well, let’s just say I feel a calling from God and it may be a blog at the end of this trip revealing what that is. One big hint, it involves returning to Thailand. But it’s early in the trip and it is something I’ll have to pray in to. In the mean time, I am not going to let India happen twice in a row. I am NOT saying I disliked India. Please do not take all of this in that context. India taught me so much and helped grow me in many ways, it was just in ways that were tough on the soul. Thailand here we are and get ready for that 1% of Christians to rise up and grow God’s kingdom in a crazy way. God bless you all!!
