As I am sitting in the most adorable coffee shop in Nepal, I can’t help but reflect on the Lord’s goodness. I haven’t blogged about India yet, partly because a lack of wifi, but mostly because so much happened I just didn’t even know where to start. I’m still not exactly sure, but lets give it a go and see what happens.
I was straight up terrified for India. Yall, let me just say, out of all the things I heard about India, most of it wasn’t good. I was having nightmares about it, I was dreading the food, I thought the people wouldn’t be nice. Any lie the enemy could sneak in my head, he did. But the minute I got into India, it wasn’t at all what I expected. People were friendly, the food was spicy but good, and the weather was not as hot as everyone said it would be.
Our first few days in Hyderabad, we learned about the culture, the do’s and dont’s, and how to minister to the people we would encounter. Then, Team Taco-Bout it left for a small village a few hours away from Hyderabad. We lived with our host family and their children. In total, there was twenty two people living in this small house, and I loved every second of it.
We had the days to ourselves. We spent a lot of time reading, hanging out with each other, and yes, watching The Office. At night, our Pastor would load us all up in his van and take us to neighboring villages to share our worship, testimonies, preach, and pray over people. I’ve never been a big fan of public speaking, but after my time in India, I am a lot more confident in it then I used to be.
The first time I preached, we were in a little church with a lot of kids, some women, and a lot of men standing in the doorway listening. We set a speaker up outside, and I preached with a microphone. No pressure or anything. Anyway, the kids were the most hyped I’ve seen in a long time. So, before I started to preach, we played a few games to “shake out” their energy. The kids loved it, the parents were laughing, and I was silently thanking God for all those years working at the YMCA that prepared me to deal with kids that were bouncing off the walls.
I preached about the importance of sharing your testimony. I talked about using your words to bring glory to the kingdom. I felt led to say that while it is hard to be a Christian in India, to keep doing it. To share your testimony, because the people persecuting Christians in India don’t know God, and they won’t if we are quiet about what God is doing in our lives. Honestly, I forgot about the speaker outside, and I didn’t know that the village we were in had a lot of people against Christianity. Later, after I finished and we were praying for people, men came asking questions, and Pastor hurried us into the car. I’m still praying for that village, and I truly believe something big is going to happen.
That was just one of the crazy things that happened. Emily and Dana prayed over a possessed woman, some of us prayed for a mute woman to speak and she did, we went into a saree shop and became real live princesses, we crashed a wedding and were asked to come up front and sing, we went to Hampi and explored, we went bouldering and climbed ancient ruins, we saw people come to the Lord, and we saw God doing amazing work in our own lives. We grew crazy close to Pastor and his family, and bawled when it was time to say goodbye to them. We celebrated birthdays and bonded with the locals. Some of us saw our parents and got to do ministry with them. I loved showing my Dad what the race is like, and giving him a small taste of the life that has taken over my heart. It was my most fruitful month so far.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to describe how good India was to me. I found God in a way I never have before. He grew me and stretched me. He talked to me and showed me who I really am. He prepared me for being a team leader this month in Nepal (Shoutout to Taco girls, I love being your leader). He told me about my future and gave me direction. I know now I am being called to run a boys home (stay tuned yall, big things are happening). He has filled my heart with joy that I can’t explain. I just know it comes from Him. I’m learning to operate in overflow and abundance and I know this month in Nepal is going to be amazing because of the good work He did in me in India. In the words of Mrs. K (our indian mamma) “super excellent sister”.
