1 month.
Lies whispered from the enemy:
What difference could you make in one month?
What relationships really matter that only last for one month?
What’s a drop in the bucket when there is a whole ocean of sorrow?
Tonight I will be boarding a plane to Nepal and saying goodbye to this country I have grown to love oh so much.
I sit writing, in a friend’s kitchen in Hyderabad. The sun is streaming though the cracks in the window and the wind is rustling through the palm trees.
The housemaid just offered me Chai without using words and I’ve finally mastered the translation of her kind eyes, some simple hand motions, and mysterious head bobble.
Despite some heart wrenching goodbyes that occurred last night as my teammates and I boarded the night bus to Hyderabad I feel oddly at peace.
I once heard the grandest lesson the World Race will teach you is how to love 100%, with all your heart and soul, and then how to turn around and leave 100% behind, ready to start fresh, trusting in The power greater than your own that will keep the pieces of the plan all together.
I must say it was easier when this piece of advice was just heard and not personally experienced. But all the same, this year is about abandonment and dependency on Christ alone, the ultimate comforter. So here’s to giving it my all.
India has been everything and more. The people, the colors, the curry, the cows, the chai.
The spiritual world is tangible in India. It moves, it flows, it can be experienced. The spotlights are on the stage, the curtain is opened, and the show is rolling here. All the while, much of America is just sitting in the dark of a never-ending intermission eating popcorn.
Before I left for India people were warning me left and right about what I was walking into. When most seasoned travelers heard that India was my first stop they shook their heads, apologizing for what was sure to be a rocky and tough start.
In many ways I can now see the concerns. Yes it’s hot, it’s sweaty, the smells can be overwhelming at times, and it is hard to find the normal person’s idea of beauty in the midst of intense poverty and piles of trash. There are idols on every corner of every street and you can feel an overbearing amount of darkness in the air and in the eyes of so many lost.
However, I found that the beauty here was in many ways, better. The beauty went deeper; it went to the depths of the soul.
People here are thirsty for the light and for the truth. When they find it they hold it so tightly and never let go. The Lord is working in magnificent ways in India. My host described it as a tsunami of Jesus just wiping across the whole country. People are being swept up by the wave and the government is terrified, hence all of the persecution of believers.
I could tell stories for hours and am already finding that my journal is filling up way quicker than I expected.
There was Raju, the 15 year-old boy who I created a fast friendship with. He was abandoned by his family at the age of 12 after being diagnosed with HIV and has ever since lived at the HIV hospice center where we worked this month. In exchange for our friendship, some fierce badminton, and the simple birthday celebration we surprised him with, he taught me what it means to walk out everyday in faith and how our days here on this earth are truly numbered.
There was Betty, a kind soul from the elderly home. She moved to the south of India to be with her Grandson after all her children and family tragically died. Once she began to have health problems her Grandson couldn’t take care of her and work, so he handed her over to the elderly home. In India every state speaks a different language so Betty is unable to communicate with anyone at the home. Lucky for us her English was impeccable, so in the midst of our chores each day we took every opportunity to learn from her wisdom. She was more than grateful for friends to talk to after so many years of being captive to her own thoughts. Betty explained how too much peace is bad for the soul. She taught us what it means to live a life that is truly alive. Although Betty’s eyes are failing her she finds a way to read the Bible everyday and her wisdom is proof of that. Each of us left with her gift of a Christmas prayer that she personally mails out to over 250 recipients by mid-august every year.
There was the after school center that we worked at every evening. An Indian Christian couple ran the school out of their garage after they felt led to build up disciples in India among some of the poorest families. Of the 30 students only 2 were from Christian parents. The other children would come into the school every day dressed by their parents, adorned in all sorts of Hindu jewel’s and marks. The owners of the after-school program not only make sure the children complete their homework, and are taken care of, but also that they learn the good news of the Gospel. The center is open to the students 365 days a year and beautiful things are happening here as the two owners sacrifice everything and more. Their finances, their safety, their time. Recently the owners just started a ministry for the mother’s of the children after the mothers wanted to see for themselves the love and light that was pouring out of this little garage. While we taught these precious human’s how to do their English homework, they taught us how to pray and how to love.
There were our hosts, A family from the untouchable caste whose work bringing kingdom in India has blessed them way beyond the limitations of their social confines. Despite their unbearable stories of hardship, this family cared for my team and I with more selflessness than I knew how to begin to comprehend.
There was the way Pastor Danny did not understand one word of English but would smile with his eyes and nod along with everything we said.
There was the young mom in the village that asked me to name her baby.
There were the moments that if you were lucky and standing on the roof doing laundry at just the right time, you could catch a glorious rainbow sweeping across the sky after monsoon rains.
So yes one month went by quick. But one month went oh so deep. 1 month was more than enough time to wreck my expectations. This first month of the race is already that one month of my life that will be tucked away in my heart for all of eternity.
Here’s to 10 more.
This is just a fun video my host asked me to put together so I wanted to share it with you all as well!
