I never believed I could love you as I have. After visiting Hyderabad in 2011, I assumed I would always hate this place for the heat, the bugs, the noise and intimidating culture. But India, you have been the greatest surprise of this whole Race, a taste of Heaven when I least expected it.
Tomorrow, I move on to Nepal. Somehow, two months has come and gone, and it’s already time to go. But here are the things I’ll hold onto…
The sparkling eyes of your people, the bright laughter of your children, and smiles stained cherry-red by chewing Beetlenut.
Your mountains, the jungle-topped rolling peaks fading away into the clouds. I’ll even miss the wild, bumpy car rides it took for us to see them!
Church services, filled solely with voices and the rolling beat of a single drum, on and on and on…
Chai I’ll miss especially. The first day when I wake up and have no hot chai to greet me will be a sad one indeed.
I’ll miss your springtime flowers, and the many-colored butterflies everywhere.
I know I’ll miss each of the places we’ve stayed—Sielmat, Lungthulien, Parbung, Senvon, Hmarkhawlien—for all of the people we’ve met.
But I think I’ll most remember this loving welcome your people have given me, the way they have made me feel time and time again like a part of the family. Christianity here is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I’m reminded over and over again by these people that it truly is an incredibly short time until I meet them again. Here a couple of the people I’ve met these last 2 months…
Here is my new friend James, from Hmarkhawlien. James is 14 and loves the Lord fiercely. He has a passion for the Gospel, a rich understanding of the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice, and a passion for the lost. When he finishes school, he hopes to be a pastor and share the love of God with his people!
Hannah and Joshua. These were the kids of our awesome hosts in Sielmat, John and Lawm Pudaite. Josh and Hannah are wildly energetic (if you can’t tell from the photos!) and love to run around and play games. I loved sitting and playing cards with these two, and spent some fun time helping Joshua with his schoolwork while my team was on kitchen duty.
The day we visited Senvon in the hills, the entire village gathered outside to welcome us. They were holding signs like the one pictured above, saying things like, “We welcome you to our humble village,” “We are one body in Christ,” and “John 3:16.” The villagers were so kind and so excited to see us!
My team’s liaison, John. He’s pretty quiet when you first meet him, but he has a wicked sense of humor and loves to do things that surprise you or catch you off guard to make you laugh.
India, you have been something beautiful like I never expected you would, and I’ll savor my time here forever.
With Love,
Joel
