These past few weeks we’ve been in the remote villages of India. We spent one of those weeks in Parbung. A small village with about 4,000 people. It’s located literally on the side of a mountain and you could drive through it without thinking twice.
As they prepared us for the villages, they let us know that there were very likely going to be people who hadn’t seen white people before. When we got there, it was very apparent that they were correct. The confused stares were all the confirmation that we needed.
We were even more of a spectacle than we typically would be. In conversation, one man told me that I looked like an angel. And, I mean, it makes sense. If someone like me, bleach blonde hair and pale as a ghost, showed up in your town, it would look awful similar what an angel is supposed to look like.
Our ministry was mostly based in the schools (& at the first annual ginger festival??) which made ministry kind of hard. These students had seen Americans only once or twice before. They were incredibly shy and had a hard time being confident in their English.
Our team found that games like volleyball and soccer were the easiest ways to connect with these students because they didn’t require any speaking. We were able to just play and have fun together.
Half way through the week, after another failed attempt at trying to communicate with these students, I realized that a lot of our ministry was just bridging the gap.
When people in remote areas think of Americans, they often think of uptight, rich, untouchable people. They often see us a prized people; better than the rest of the world. They don’t view us as being on the same level. Without having to be anything “special” in America, were automatically royalty overseas.
This is the view that most of the students had of us when we arrived. By the end of our time, they felt comfortable enough to playing with us, talking to us and hanging on us. Bridging the gap.
Sometimes ministry just looks like allowing ourselves to be human to the rest of the world. Letting people know that these humans that look like angels love the people of India enough to come and love on them. Ministry means showing people that were all the same in the Lords eyes. We’re not better than them because we have more money and they’re not better than us because they’re able to live simply. It’s a powerful lesson when we learn to actually see everyone as equal, through the eyes of the Lord.
On Saturday, our team will be traveling to Pokhara, Nepal for our last month of the Race! Keep us in your prayers as we prepare to come home!!! Love y’all!
