It’s 7:30 PM. The night is dark, the breeze cool. The moon is my companion: a huge, yellow sphere peeking out behind a long, thin cloud. Pretty much like I grabbed it out of a scene from Aladdin.
I’m leaning on a giant, white pillar at the top of marble steps, which lead into our compound–our home–for the next twenty days. And dare I say it, but my ankles AND my knees are showing. Don’t tell.
It’s month two, but with it, there have been a lot of firsts.
The first time I’ve done laundry by soaking it and slapping it against my bare feet to get the dirt out (I think? An Indian woman saw us struggling and came to relieve us).
The first time I’ve had Thums Up (a very off brand of Coca Cola).
The first time I’ve been handed a toddler by her parents, asking for me to pray a blessing over her.
The first time I’ve woken up multiple times in the night, laying in literal pools of sweat because of the stale heat and twelve other bodies laying next to me.
The first time I’ve eaten meals with my hands more often than not, making sure to feed myself with my right hand (quite the challenge since I’m left handed).
The first time I’ve lice combed a friend’s hair, and wasn’t really surprised or disgusted when she asked me to do so (we found none, so all’s well).
The first time I’ve worn a head covering to pray and preach.
The first time I’ve preached and actually, truly enjoyed it.
And the first time I’ve seen an iguana up close and was slightly creeped out, but thought to myself, “Oh, it’s just an iguana. At least it’s not a snake!” (And I don’t even like iguanas).
I’m in India.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the country I’m currently sitting in the middle of is not really it. It’s like Florida and The Lion King met and ran off together. With lots of water buffalo and bad smells. This land is nothing great in comparison to the beautiful landscape and mountains we left behind in Nepal. But the food is incredible, the people overly generous, the heat dangerous. Men of the lower castes wear “skirts” here (magically rolling up the draped fabric over their twiggy legs and stuffing the end into their “waistband”), while the women are covered from (generally) head to toe, showing the midriff on the left side of their saris.
This month, our entire squad is living together, but each team is assigned a different ministry. My team and I go to a new village each day, praying for people from home to home, relaxing and talking with the local pastors, and sharing testimonies and a message at church in the evening. It’s been a fascinating peek into the every day lives of the Indian people.
There’s so much more I could say, so many stories already I could share. But those will come with time. Bear with me, join me on this adventure. It’s a wild one here in India. I think you’ll like it.
