Bola looked shocked. Almost like I had just thrown water on him.
This is a blog post I’ve been thinking of writing for 3 and a half years. Feelings of apathy and inadequacy have held me back. Even today when I asked God what I should blog about and He brought these stories from my original World Race to mind, I doubted. You see, I’m learning how to obey God. In the past, if God told me to do something and I didn’t have the full explanation or word, I would brush it off. I would tell God He has to give me the whole word for me to risk and approach someone. I would negotiate that He would have to give me all the details of a career move, before I would jump in and say “yes.” I wanted a safety net. Now I’m learning that sometimes God gives you a half a sentence and says, “Go tell him and I’ll give you the rest as you talk.” Or sometimes he says “Go squad lead Gap Year. I have something for you there, that I will reveal to you on the field.” So I’m learning to trust God. To truly have my “yes” on the table with no strings attached. To jump when God says jump. To follow the prompts of the Holy Spirit. To start writing blog posts, even when the stories seem unfinished and outdated. I must freely agree and I want to! For He has been so faithful with my other yeses, how could I not continue to follow His lead?
Kolkata, India, March 2016
My newly formed team and I had hit our first country together. Month three had started and we were put right back into the thick of missions work. Kolkata(formerly Calcutta), India is where Mother Teresa lived and served. In fact, we got to volunteer at her ministry while we were there. To this day, Kolkata was the most extreme poverty I have ever witnessed. This was an ATL (Ask The Lord) location for us, so that’s just what we did. After we prayed that morning in our hostel, we decided to go to a local hospital and pray for patients. We didn’t know if we could, but it was worth the risk. After asking some locals, we figured out what buses we needed to take and headed to the hospital. Kolkata was also the most populated city I’ve ever been to. Literally people all over each other everywhere, including that old bus we crammed into.
As we walked into the hospital, we went to the front desk. People were waiting to be admitted into the hospital. We asked if we could pray for the patients in the hospital. I don’t remember what the hospital staff said, but I do remember a lady being at the front desk complaining of pain in her body. Our team asked her if we could pray for her in Jesus’ name. She politely and carefully agreed. The staff did not know what to say so they allowed it. We laid hands on her and began to pray. By the end of the prayer, we asked how she felt. She checked herself and looked up at us with a surprised look. “I have no more pain!” She quietly thanked us and walked out. The staff were in disbelief as they threw away her admission form. One of them told us we could go pray for others. We left lobby and split up.
My team went in and out of rooms, meeting people and asking to pray for them. We stopped by a room full of baby cribs. What a privilege it was to pray blessings over these sweet Indian children! We then entered a room where there was an older gentleman lying on a bed. He saw us and sat up to talk. He seemed very appreciative that we were there to interact with him. He spoke only a little broken English. We asked if we could pray for his health. He was confused, but agreed. I prayed a blessing of health, love, and peace over the man. While I prayed, his man and I were looking into each other’s eyes. I don’t really do that. I usually close my eyes, or if they are open, I look at the ground. Then. I’ll never forget it. I said, “I pray for healing in his body in the name of Jesus.” He gasped, as tears filled his eyes. I had never seen a reaction like this to the name of Jesus. At the end, he was overjoyed and thanked us. I don’t know if this man was physically healed that day, but I do know he encountered the risen Christ. Jesus had touched his heart and filled him with peace. In that moment, I felt Jesus saying, “My name mends broken hearts. My name brings hope to the hopeless.”
Varanasi, India, April 2016
(If you read my blog post, “Witnessing to the Skull Worshiper,” this is about that same man.)
It was our last day in Varanasi, known as the holiest city in Hinduism. Probably the most spiritually dark and hopeless place I’ve ever been to, yet I remember more stories from our two weeks in this place than anywhere else on the Race. I couldn’t sleep that night. I usually couldn’t sleep there because it was so dang hot in southern India. I remember I would wake up in this hostel drenched in sweat. Or I would wake up to a monkey. Yes, a monkey. As the sun rose on the first morning in Varanasi, I awoke to rustling outside the window. This window didn’t have glass, only thin bars. I sat up and looked out only to see a monkey staring back at me behind the bars. We both screamed and ducked. My teammates got a kick out of the story later at breakfast. Only in India, I suppose.
Anyways, I couldn’t sleep because I knew I needed to give away something before we left Varanasi. We were flying to northern India the next morning and I wouldn’t get a chance to if I waited. I had these blankets in my pack and I felt the Lord urging me to give them away in His name. This was crazy, but crazy is something I was getting used to. God likes to get us outside of our comfort zone to grow us and show His glory. So as my teammate slept in another bed across from me, I left the hostel, blankets in hand. This didn’t seem like the best idea. Truly. I mean, we were allowed to go out on our own, but it was sketchy on the streets. They have this boardwalk near the Ganges River and midnight is not the time you want to be walking around as a Westerner. At certain places on the boardwalk, they are literally having multiple body-burning funerals 24 hours a day, hoping their loved ones will be reincarnated. But because of the Lord, I had no fear this night. I needed to find my new friend Bola, the skull worshiper.
I walked down the boardwalk to the place he usually sat. Nothing. I searched up and down the places I usually saw him. Still nothing. Am I supposed to give the blankets to someone else, Lord? There were plenty of homeless people in need all around this city. I still felt God leading me to keep searching, almost like He had something to teach me. In a dark corner, I finally found Bola half awake, lying on the ground. Yes! Thank you, Lord! He sat up and I could tell he was just waking up from a hard sleep.
I slowly approached. “Bola…how are you?” Bola, looked up at me with his eyes squinting, as he adjusted to the light and his surroundings. I placed the blankets in front of him. “Bola, I want to give you these blankets in the name of Jesus.” Suddenly, both of his eyes got big. “JESUS?!” Bola shouted and sat back. He looked shocked. Almost like I had just thrown water on him. And I guess in some ways I had (John 4:10-15). “Yes, Bola. I give you these blankets in the name of Jesus.” He sighed a breath of relief, wobbled his head as many Indians do and said, “Okay.” As I walked back to the hostel, I pondered what I had just seen. What did Bola see, that I didn’t? I don’t really know what happened in that moment. Maybe I’ll never know or I’m not supposed to know, but I do know that God moved in Bola’s life. God asked me to be a part of showing His love to Bola, and that memory blesses me to this day. In that moment, I felt Jesus saying, “My name can set the captives free. My name will bring light to even the darkest soul.”
So dear reader, what is God calling you to do? What crazy, unreasonable opportunity has He asked you to participate in? How are you to give away His love wherever you are today? I encourage you to say “yes” and start walking. He will fill in the gaps as you go and fill you with power. Will you make mistakes? Sure. But God’s got you and you have to start walking. God told Abraham to leave his home country “to the land I will show you.”(Genesis 12:1) Abraham didn’t know where he was being led, but he trusted the Lord’s word and walked on. Jesus’ mother, Mary was told she would have a child while still a virgin. Her response? “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it happen.”(Luke 1:38) She trusted the Lord’s word and walked on. When the other ten spies saw danger and giants, Caleb and Joshua saw hope and the Promised Land. They knew God would protect and deliver the Israelites. They trusted the Lord’s word and walked on. My friend, whatever God is asking you to do, whatever He is asking you to say, trust the Lord’s word and walk on. It’s worth the risk. Even if you don’t have all the details. Even if you know others will not approve. Even if you are doubting. Jesus doesn’t rebuke, but heals the boy whose father says “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Walk on! God knows what He is doing. What an honor that we get to be loved by God and be a part of His plan to love others! Thank you Jesus, the Name above all names.
Meeting Bola for the first time and hearing his story
