made it to India!!
We arrived in Chennai, India after we spent a 36 hour train ride from New Delhi. Covered in sweat and dirty, we jumped off the crowded Indian train into the blazing heat of the day. I don’t Think I’ve ever been this dirty before, and nothing sounded better then a cold shower I knew was waiting for us at our contact’s home. So, after grabbing our bags, some breakfast, and sending our bags ahead of us in little taxis (praying that the made it to the same place) we loaded onto, wait for it… another train! An hour later we are finally at our destination.
The first train ride wasn’t that bad though, we were befriended by a man and his family who sat us down, made us (mostly Alison) sing and dance for hours while the clapped and took turns asking us question after question. They bought us cold cokes and necklaces, drew henna on our hands with pens and begged us to visit them at the home for a nice home cooked meal.I wish we could have. I’m pretty sure that Alison was talked into marrying their eight year old son, but after being all decorated up with Indian forehead dots, and learning how to dance to traditional songs that they sang by memory, they could talk us into anything :] Their laughter was contagious and I knew from this encounter that I was going to LOVE India. God, am I really in India!!??!!
Our first days spent here Perungalattur, we have made a couple of visits to homes at night to visit some church members. Everyone is so loving here!! They always greet us with smiles and shove us into their tiny homes. They make their children go to the store to buy us some cokes, since we can’t drink the water here. Each church member has an amazing story of how they came to know the Lord. The first family that we met told us how they had a nice home here in town, but a group of Muslims came and started burning down all the Christian homes in the area. Now they live close to the slums in a house with dirt floors and a tarp for a roof. They are still smiling though. And still have rock solid faith in Jesus. Makes me wonder how strong my faith really is…
Our little church that we stay at is right across the street from a field where a community of trash pickers live. We visited their homes last night, and I recognized some of the faces from church on Sunday. I never in a million years would have guessed that these church members would be living here in this community. They are some of the most beautiful and loving people I have ever met. Again, the Lord is getting me to a place of humility I never would have gotten to in the states. How many people do we pass on the streets every day and don’t give a second look to them because they are homeless or dirty. They are still people. Loving and beautiful creations from heaven. I’m glad we get to spend our time here.
And here is Glory. She is our sweet friend who is helping us all month. She never leaves our side and always had a hot cup of coffee for us any time we want it. we are truly spoiled. And her heart for hospitality is inspiring. I want to take her with us for the next seven months. and look how pretty she is!
I’m sure I’ll end up writing a whole blog just for here, and that’s my pet for the month! a baby kitten. so sweet. I can’t wait to tell you all about what will happen in the upcoming weeks. We have already bought our saris (bright colors and lots of sparkles) and tonight is our first night of ministry on the streets. I know I’ll have some good stories to tell all of you soon. Please keep my team and me in your prayers! We are all getting kind of homesick and non of us want to miss out on anything here. And I suggest all of you reading this find a legit Indian food restaurant and get ya some food. It’s life changing :]
Love from India
<3
