It was a Saturday when a normal day in India turned into a dream in another dimension.
We had the whole day off to adventure and/or rest. I was meeting this patient and his friend at the hospital where we first met a couple days ago. *A little backstory* When I first met Iaed (the patient at the hospital) and Muhammed (his friend and interpreter), I was on a walk with two of my other teammates. Towards the end of our walk we decided to sit at this garden outside the hospital. Heading towards the pathway into the garden there was a man in a wheelchair along with another man blocking the path. We strike up conversation with the two men and quickly come to find that the man in wheelchair’s friend knows very good english. After talking for a few minutes, me and my teammates go and sit down in the garden. After twenty minutes or so, we noticed that Iaed was still sitting where we left him. Another teammate and I felt like we needed to pray healing over Iaed. After asking the Lord what we should do, we get up and head over to his wheelchair. As we were talking to him, Mohammed comes up and translates for us. After asking Iaed about the accident and some of his life, he tells us that he is paralyzed from the waist down due to him falling three stories off of a building in Yemen, which is where they are from. After our interaction, they became very fond of us and invited us over for lunch someday. *back to the story*
We arranged to me them at the hospital at 1:30. My teammates that came with me the first time we met them, couldn’t come, so I brought Blake. Upon our arrival, we see them sitting in the garden. After we sat down and said hello to them, they gave us juice boxes. I introduced Blake and we talked about their beliefs in the world. After that, we asked if we could pray over Iaed’s legs again. After they kindly said yes, we put out hands on his knees. After we prayed, they had to go back into the hospital to do more training. They told us to meet them in the same spot again at 3:00. After they went inside, we wanted to walk around for the time we had. Right after we left the garden, we see another man in a wheel chair. With the very broken English that he had, we introduced ourselves. His name was Anan and the reason he was in a wheel chair was because a plastic bomb blew up due to terrorists in Somalia. We asked to pray over the right side of his body because that was the side that was paralyzed. We then said our goodbyes and started walking away from the city. With only an hour to spare before 3:00, we enter into the backstreets of Hyderabad. As we walked down the color filled road, we noticed a stair case disappearing into big boulders above the buildings. Intrigued and feeling adventurous, we set off down the unknown ally, up the stairs and to the rocks. Once we got to the top, there was a shrine caged inside of a red gate with candles still burning, four boys playing a game in the dirt, and little kids waving at us from the rooftops below. This was our overlook. Once we made our way to the highest boulder, we had the panoramic view of all of Hyderabad. The white houses and the towering sky scrapers seemed to be only particles of dust from our levitated point of view. The view couldn’t last for long because we had to be back at the hospital by 3:00. Once we made it back to the hospital, Mohammed, Iaed and Mohammed’s uncle were waiting for us with a cab. Not sure exactly what to expect, we hop into the vehicle of the unknown.
After the ten minute drive, we end up in a part of the city that we have never been to. We turn down a claustrophobic ally way, infested with engine scraping speed bumps. We arrived at their flat still unaware of what was next to come. As we depart from the car, we are greeted by Mohammed’s cousin. We are then quickly ushered into an elevator that seemed to shrink every second. We arrived on their floor, kicked off our shoes, and entered their quaint living room. The future was still unknown as we sat on their couch. We were only sitting there for a minute when Mohammed ushered us into another bedroom. In that bedroom, we were instantly bombarded by all of their family members. One of those family members was Mohammed’s brother with whom we discussed politics, heritage, and their current situation. They told us that they escaped Yemen and the conflict in the country. After about thirty minutes of discussing those things, they informed us that lunch was being served. As we walked out of the room, there was a traditional Yemen feast displayed across the rugs. We say down, fully grateful for the exceeding hospitality. Eating never came to a halt. Things were continuously being put in my hands and we were forced to eat it. Continuing the conversation that we had in the adjacent bedroom, we filled our stomachs. After everything on the rug was gone, we were then ushered back into the room from which we came. Cake and tea awaited us. After the sweets and fruitful conversation, we told them that we had to leave. Thinking that we were going to have to get a tuk tuk back, they followed us out into the ally and led us to their car and offered us a ride back to the hospital. After arriving at the hospital, Mohammed’s brother told me that it was their pleasure to babe us in their home and that every Saturday and Sunday they were free and if we ever needed anything we shouldn’t be afraid to ask. We said our goodbyes and watched them drive off, thanking God for the opportunities to form new relationships. We then decide, to end our day by going back to our overlook to capture the sunset. Once we get there, we are quickly greeted by several street kids and two men who constantly asked about WWE. Sitting and watching the sunset through the smog of pollution and the numerous kites silhouetted against the faint orange sky was the calmest I have been in what seems like forever. I was held captive by God’s Love and Beauty the whole day that seemed to never end.
P.S. I am only $3,000 away till I reach my full fundraising amount!!! Thank you to all my supporters and to everyone who has been constantly praying for my journey!! I have till December 30th to reach my final goal and I believe that God provides for His children. Again thank you for the thoughts and prayers, they make the most difference!
Spoiler: clark kent is superman
