Varanasi.
They say it’s the most spiritual place in India. I can’t say I haven’t felt it, but I CAN say that the Holy Spirit is SO present.
In our short time here, my team has been able to get involved with a YWAM base and hear the involvement that they have in this place. To meet people that have decided to leave the lives they had to move here, being obedient to the Lord’s call is nothing short of inspiring. Not only did they leave what they knew, but they chose to go to a place that isn’t necessarily easy to live in:
Physically, the air is difficult to breathe in because of the pollution, there are piles of garbage around most corners you take, people are peeing and pooping where they please, and the heat alone takes your breath away (today it was 111 degrees). I’ve never experienced not being able to breath until I came here. My throat had been extremely sore and my chest had felt like it was burning and heavy. I felt it as soon as I would walk outside.
Spiritually, I don’t even know how to explain it. Generally I’m not one who is sensitive to spiritual heaviness. I’d say I’m usually able to stay positive and get excited about building relationships with new people as we travel, not being affected by the “spiritual realm”. I have teammates who can feel a change in the atmosphere as soon as we enter a new place, leaving me oblivious to it. Come to find out in Varanasi, 8/10 girls are sexually abused and prostitution is everywhere. Hearing stuff like this catches me off guard, realizing this sensitivity to the spiritual realm is real. However, when we came here, I didn’t necessarily feel the “heaviness” but I didn’t feel the same passion and drive that I’ve had for the entire race.
We actually took a boat tour our first night here along the Ganges river and woah… Guys this is a place that Varanasi is known for. This is a place where there are different festivals everyday and people come here to worship and pray to the different gods. Shiva is “lord” over Varanasi which means god of destruction. People believe that this place will bring them life when in reality, the three cities it runs through are the poorest in India. It’s believed that if you take a bath in the Ganges or drink the water, that your sins will be washed away. It’s also believed that when a loved one dies, you can bring their body here to be dipped into the water (wash away sins), burned, then the ashes and the rest of the body is thrown into the river. This is so they skip reincarnation and go straight to heaven. Widowed women are even left here by their family members because they don’t want to take care of them and by leaving them here, again they will go straight to heaven. They become homeless and are literally waiting to die here. This situation reveals the truth in Proverbs 27:20 which states “Death and destruction are never satisfied.” Everyday an average of 18 bodies go into the Ganges where people bathe and drink the water. We actually watched these ceremonies happen and saw the body parts being thrown into the water and right next to it there were children swimming and I felt absolutely nothing… I had no emotion towards it. To be honest, it felt like a movie that wasn’t real. I felt out of it that night into the next few days. We went to church a few days later and I felt exhausted, having a hard time breathing, and simply not caring. I started to pray against these things then two of my teammates prayed in the name of Jesus; I almost immediately felt that heaviness go away and I could easily take a deep breath and it felt fine. In Luke 10:19 it says, “I have given you authority… to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Since then I have felt normal and excited for the day, even when it’s bloody hot!
With all of that being said, yesterday we had the opportunity to pray for some of these widows and people of the leper community and today, we went to the widows home and helped at the clinic. I was asked if I could pray for the women after they had their checkups (with members of the YWAM base). It’s extremely humbling to see what these people have had to endure. I can’t imagine this lifestyle being normal. However, I am extremely hopeful because of the people we’ve met who actually care and have the Lord’s heart for this community, who choose to raise their children here, who give up everything to be here because they simply see past the obstacles and the heaviness and love these people. They feel the presence of the Holy Spirit at work and they are being obedient to their calling.
There is SO much hope in this place despite the belief system that is suffocating these people. The Lord longs to pour out his Spirit (Joel 2:28-29). Even though there’s a lot of darkness in Varanasi, I know that God’s power is greater (Col. 2:15).
Here is a photo of a few of the widows. These pictures were taken by my girl Victoria Muller!
