Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch…all the senses are running wild as I embrace the beautiful culture of India. The vibrant colors of the sarees and punjabis fill the streets, and the traffic is loud and chaotic. The jasmine flowers fill your nostrils with the most pleasant fragrance; the food is spicy, delicious and eating with your hands is my new favorite thing. The bangles, decorations and smiles of the faces I see make my heart leap with excitement. This is India. At least the best I can describe. This culture is so far from America, you almost would have to be here experiencing it for yourself to really understand, but I will try my best to paint a vivid picture of this beautiful country.
We got off the bus at our location where we will be spending the month, a little ways outside of Hyderabad. Our contacts, Pastor Sam and Camela, run an orphanage of over 200 children, amongst many other ministries, greeted us with warm smiles. We pulled up to see a lovely printed sign saying “Welcome World Race Team”. Then the scene that followed brought tears to my eyes; dozens of precious little Indian orphans waving and saying, “welcome to India!” with the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen. They showed us to our rooms, which their sons gave up for the month so we would have somewhere to sleep. They have showered us with the most humbling generosity and incredible delight. It truly has moved me beyond words. It would be impossible for me to even try to explain the feelings in my heart, but one word to let your imagination run wild with is FULL.
Camela, who owns the most beautiful sarees I’ve ever seen, leaves us anxiously anticipating seeing which one she will be wearing each morning. She took us shopping to get our own punjabis and sarees tailor made. I was like a kid in a candy store trying to pick out fabric! There are so many brilliant colors and patterns. Since it’s highly offensive for women to show their shoulders or their ankles here, it really does limit your wardrobe. Plus, I want to dive into everything about this beautiful place. The women cover their head while praying with the scarves that come with the punjabis. So dressing like them, and adapting to their culture will help us to be more successful in ministering to these precious ones. Pretty soon I will be blending right in with the Indian culture.
Our ministry this month will be full of variety, which makes my heart glad. We will be focusing on evangelizing to the lost, since Hinduism is predominate here that leaves a huge harvest field to be worked in. This includes: door-to-door ministry, speaking and preaching in several churches and Bible studies, participating in baptism, loving on the orphans (no problem), bringing Jesus to the prisons, the brothels and every dark place we can find. We will be shining His light all over this city and I am honored to be a part of what He is doing here in India.
One quick story, last night I had the honor of going to an unreached village (besides Pastor Sam, no Christians have ever brought the gospel there) and sharing the gospel. There’s a small group that have committed to Christ that gather to eagerly hear the life that His Word bring and several Hindu people come to see what we are all about.
NOTE: Since Hinduism is made up of worshipping over 300 millions different gods and idols, most people at first simply want to add Jesus to their list of gods. Being a Hindu is what they do, who they are and so much a part of their culture from birth. It is a process to get them to accept Christ as the ONE and ONLY God. Once they come to this place of surrender, they are baptized. Here, that is the biggest sign of true surrender to Jesus – which is why it’s so incredible to see. Truly, they become new people.
Back to the story, we arrived at the village only to find the power had gone out. No problem for them. They lit some candles and carried on with the service. Did I mention this meeting was outside, under a giant tree full of monkeys?! PEOPLE! Is this real life? I preached the gospel and praying for Christian and Hindu Indian people, under a tree that had monkeys jumping from limb to limb, in the dark, in INDIA! Sorry, but even writing this doesn’t seem real. I am blown away to be having this opportunity and you made it possible – THANK YOU.
I’m sitting here tearing up while writing this. There’s just no way for me to explain it…. JESUS. He’s so good and so real. Seeing Him working in these people’s lives is changing mine by the second. The people are open to the gospel and hearing about the beautiful and bloody reality of what Jesus did for them. This is what I was born for, to tell of His story, to share in His pain and to live for His glory. I could never go back now, I must take Him to even the farthest and darkest corners of the world. This is only the beginning.
p.s. This is only day 4!
