It’s hard to put India into words. I went into the month nervous about a lot. It was such a hard month in so many aspects yet it is the one place I feel completely called to going back to. I love the kids at Sarah’s Covenant Home with a love I can’t explain. I can’t wait to get back there!
Country: India
City: Ongole
Ministry: This month we worked with Sarah’s Covenant Home (SCH). SCH is a children’s home for kids with special needs. We spent our time loving on the kids, taking the kids on outings (the beach and the dam), doing administrative work, and taking pictures of the kids for Valentine’s Day emails. I was able to use some of my speech therapy skills with some of the kids as well. We also did village ministry with India Christian Ministries twice.
Contact: Our contact this month was James and Sarah Rebbavarapu. They are such a great couple and have an amazing story. We also worked with Nayomi. She helped set everything up for our team and got us to and from ministry. I absolutely loved spending time with Nayomi!
Living Arrangements: We had our own apartment this month. 13 of us slept in the 3-bedroom apartment. We all had beds or cots though. We had an amazing roof that overlooked the city that we would do worship on every morning. On the street below us was great food too! Monkeys loved to hang outside our apartment. It was a fun month!
Teams We Served With: We served with Talitha Kumi this month. These girls came alongside me and supported me so much this month. I was definitely blessed by serving with them.
Money & Exchange Rate: Rupee (50 Rupees=1 US Dollar)
Language: Telegu
Off Day Fun: This month we spent one off day at a nearby beach that was basically private. We went with a lot of our squad and ended the day with a bonfire before the rain ran us out. Several other teams from our squad were also close to Ongole so we spent a lot of our free time with them. I also spent 2 days in Hyderabad and was able to treat myself to Chili’s and Hard Rock Café. On the way to Agra for our flight to Europe, we stopped to see the Taj Mahal!
Great Things From the Month:
-I loved being so close to other teams. It was fun to get to see our friends frequently.
-We started every morning with worship on the roof. This helped me focus my day right and gave me the strength to push through the hard days.
-We got to go to the beach 3 times this month. It was so cool to see the kids’ reactions to going into the ocean for the first time.
-We got to buy some fun Indian outfits.
-I loved watching the way people in India worship. They get into it. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.
-SCH is doing some amazing things. I fell in love with the kids and watched God sustain our team.
-I loved the food in India!
-God is doing some crazy things in India. Village ministry was incredible. We were able to pray for so many people including a woman who had been demon-possessed for over 20 years.
-I loved getting to use my speech therapy skills with the kids. I helped feed some of the more difficult kids, found apps for a donated iPad, and worked to increase language/communication.
Hard Things From the Month:
-SCH does the best they can for these kids. It is amazing standard of care for India but it’s definitely not America. I had to remind myself that they were in such a better place than before they came to SCH.
-It’s not natural to want to spend time with children with special needs. They are in your face, often times dirty, and needy. Sometimes, I would find myself drained within minutes of being there. God showed up though and always got me through it.
-We hit the halfway point of the race in India.
-This month was another hard month team wise.
Memories:
-Coming home to monkey’s outside of our apartment and then watching them walk into our neighbors apartment to steal their bananas.
-Watching our neighbors do dance workouts on the rooftops.
-Getting delicious food from some our favorite street vendors.
-I will never forget the way Nicki came alive to worship music and laughed so hard when getting in the ocean for the first time.
-I loved spending mornings at the “baby house” playing with Nicki, Heidi, Gabe, and Jackie. We loved having dance parties.
-We did the
-Driving in India was one of the scariest things ever.
-Cows were everywhere and just walked around doing whatever they wanted.
-Village ministry was awesome. I’ll never forget praying for hours for the woman who had a demon.
-Lynette’s team was in Ongole. We got to celebrate her birthday with her by having a cake and a dance party with the kids at the orphanage they were staying at.
-Our next-door neighbor was an idol maker. He loved to come out on our porch and stare while we worshiped in the mornings.
Lessons Learned:
-God taught me a lot about loads verse burdens this month. I began to see what was my responsibility and what wasn’t. It’s such a good lesson to learn.
-God continued to teach me complete dependence on Him.
-I continued to learn to believe God’s truth about me, not what other people say.
-I learned to trust God to provide opportunities for conversations to happen and trust him to convict people of things instead of needing to call them out on it.
-God showed me so much how He is our sustainer.
-God gave me the desire to start living out the bible this month.
So much happened in India! India was our last country in Asia. After that, we hoped on a plane in New Delhi and made our way to Eastern Europe. Check back tomorrow to hear what how Romania was!
PS Only 11 days left of 11 in 11!
