My daddy-o in India

Parent Vision Trip was the last week in India. I was blessed to have my dad come and spend a week with me doing ministry. It was so refreshing to be around some family again.

My dad got there a little later than the other parents, but it was all good. We had to get him accustomed to the time change quickly because he didn’t have any time to rest off the jet lag. So, what did we do? Went shopping of course! Which feels trivial when on the World Race but is definitely necessary because our clothes get worn out! We had a fabulous dinner together also!

The next day we went to the Covenant Worship Center. The team that had worked there all month had been going into the slums in Hyderabad and preaching the Gospel and praying over people, while also getting to worship with the young men who worked and lived at the worship center. We mimicked their ministry a bit. We started with worship which was awesome. I was a little nervous because over the 8 previous months my worship style had changed. I was one of those put your hands up to Jesus people that I was always weirded out by before. But, my dad didn’t seem bothered by the change. It’s just weird I guess to know that your parents will see you in your faith in a different way than ever before, some call it radical, but I think it’s just finally that God has given me a passion for him. So it’s a good thing. Then we went out to the park to talk to people and hand out flyers for a prayer night they were going to have at CWC. We got to talk to people about Jesus in the process and just pray with them. I was a bit bummed about the place we had gone though honestly because it was a park that you had to pay to get into. It wasn’t the India that most of us had been working with, and I really wanted my dad to get to experience that. He ended up getting a small glimpse by the end of the week though, which was good.

The next day we went to a Covenant Children’s Home in a small village really close to the one I had lived in all month. I was a bit sad because the team that went the first day got to go to the family we had lived with, and I really wanted my dad to get to meet them. But, the house we went to was the house we had eaten dinner at the last night of our whole team being in the villages so it was still exciting for my dad to be somewhere that I had done ministry. The children’s home ministry was different than what we had been doing all month. But, my dad really enjoyed it. The 10 girls that lived there had exams and ended up getting there late so we took up the time by having “team time” with our PVT team. It was cool for our parents to get to see how we meet together when we are in our own teams. When the girls got there they sang and danced for us, and it was great! That day was so tiring, it was about a 3 hour drive there and 3 hours back, and we were exhausted by the end of the day. So, in true fashion for me and good ole William, we skipped out on the dinner they planned and got Papa Johns pizza to-go instead.

The next day we got to go to the slums. It was my favorite day of the whole week. They told us before we went that one person would have to tell a testimony and one person would have to preach the Gospel. I had gotten pretty comfortable preaching the Gospel in places like that because we had been doing it all month so when no one else volunteered, I did it. Although, the added factor of knowing I would be preaching with my dad watching really did make me nervous. We went into 4 different huts. I call them huts, maybe they could be called shanties- homes made of wood and dirt and tarp that were maybe 8×8 ft. What I thought was awesome though was that each home invited us in. They set out a mat on the ground, and we all crowded in. They would tell us what was going on in their families- abuse, drunkenness, confusion in faith, fear of being kicked out of their homes. It was heartbreaking in a way I hadn’t experienced yet on the race. I was so thankful for that day. We met one woman who told us she wanted to hear about Jesus so I start to tell her, and she was such a firecracker. Siloo was her name. As I would talk, she would talk at the same time. The translator kept telling her to let me finish. We were laughing so hard. But, we did finish, and she accepted Christ right there! Then her friend comes in and wants to hear about Jesus, too. So, we start to tell her. I say we because Siloo talked as much as Darcie. I had told her, and she told her friend. It was awesome. Disciples making disciples making disciples. That’s all God. Then, her friend accepted Christ as her savior too. After that, it was time to preach. It went pretty well. My dad telling me that it was one of the proudest moments he’s had was definitely a plus. Stills brings some water to my eyes.

The last day of PVT we were just your average tourists. We went to an old fort and to an awesome market. Then we crashed hard.

It was an incredible week. Worshipping with my dad, praying over him, praying with him, watching him pray over others. I don’t know how to put it to words except to say that it was a blessing. I know God wanted him there for a reason. I don’t know the exact reason, but for me, it was just to have us build the kingdom alongside each other. And so he could bring some of the best and most encouraging gifts and letter from my mom and my best friends.