Occurred on: July 10, 2012
Written on: July 26, 2012
My team and I struggled to get on the bus. Our huge sixty and seventy liter backpacks we carried did not allow us to pass through the narrow aisles. The only seating available for our group of eight was conveniently at the very back of the bus. We looked ridiculous, really. A bunch of Americans with a ton of stuff. My water bottle fell out of the side pocket of my daypack and bounced on the floor. A kind Indian man handed it to me. I flushed, embarrassed. We worked together and formed an assembly line to pass our seven large backpacks, seven small daypacks, guitar, and doumbek to our seats. When we all finally sat down after arranging our things, I felt instant relief.
I was sharing a seat with my two teammates, Emilee and Beka. Emilee promptly asked us to name three things we were thankful for. The thankful game is something we play when in the midst of challenging or potentially frustrating circumstances. This helps us keep our perspective in check.
We rode on the bus for about two hours, sometimes dozing. When we arrived to the bus stop, we again worked together to take our gear off the bus. I began to stand outside with all the baggage. Immediately, a crowd began to form around me and all the bags. As the rest of the team joined me, the crowd got larger. They just stared. I tried to not be so concerned about anyone taking any of my belongings. But, it was important to be prudent in this type of situation. I attempted to count how many pairs of eyes surrounded me. I gave up after counting sixty pairs.
Beka made a comment, “Oh, fish bowl!” We cracked up. What a perfect description of how we were feeling. Trapped inside a fish bowl. We looked really interesting with our white skin. Oh, and all our stuff. “Are you moving, they might be asking,” said Beka. “No, this is just one-one hundredth of our stuff, really,” I said. Then it hit us. How sad. We looked so silly with all our stuff. Yet, really we did not have much with us considering how much we left behind back in the States. And we are going to be gone eleven months. I tried to justify all my belongings both in my backpack and back home.
The crowd continued to stare. We thought about Derek taking out his guitar to sing. We could maybe finding something to juggle. We even thought about sharing the gospel. But we were short on time, you see. We were waiting for a Rick-Shaw to come take us to the village, so we could begin our ministry. Note to self: Seize every opportunity.
While being stared at for an extended fifteen minutes, my teammate Michael shared a thought the Lord had whispered to him. “May my love be what compels them to stare. May my love in you have the same effect on whoever sees you.”
Lord, let it be so.
Let us give sacrifices of praise when we are frustrated.
Let us learn to live on less.
Let us seize every opportunity to share the good news.
Let your love be what causes others to stare.
Amen.
Most days here in India have been filled with at least one fish bowl moment. This particular time was on a day of ministry. Music is a great way to connect with others and share the good news of Jesus!
