India held so many things this past month. For the time I got to live there, I witnessed so much pain, struggle, and oppression, but I saw so much more hope, joy, and redemption through the Lord. I saw God heal a man from paralysis in his arms, a woman stand for 10 minutes and walk to church after only being able to stand for 2 minutes before that, and my ministry host’s mother get healed from a sickness. There were more miracles that happened, but that is only a few of them. Even though Christianity is only 2% of the population in India, God is still moving, and I truly believe He has a lot to work to do there still. I am so blessed to have been a part of it, and I know that I didn’t even get to see all the fruit from my time.
One of the hardest aspects of the Indian culture was the treatment and respect towards woman. Even as Americans, my team and I could tell a difference by the way the Stella, Emily, and I were treated compared to Bo, Jackson, and Rodrigo. Our ministry host would always address the men of the squad and would never extend his hand to us until the end of the month, even then he was still reluctant. During volleyball, some of the men who played with us wouldn’t pass the girls the ball. And even the women had to wear sarees and kurtas that basically covered their whole body to provide less of a “distraction” for the men. Honestly, it was difficult to be in a culture where it was normal for women to be so submissive.
In the midst of all the frustration, we met Diamond, our ministry host’s wife. She completely allowed God to guide her life, and I could tell that she served Him all day every day. Her family was beautiful, and she even told me that I was her daughter, too. She was a woman of the Lord, and because of that He gave her a church to be in charge of. Also, the relationship between Pastor K and his wife, Diamond, was so encouraging after looking around and seeing so much brokenness. I believe that the reason for so much true joy in their relationship was because they were Christians who sought the Lord in their relationship. Diamond and her family gave a touch of empowerment to the females around them, and I know the Lord is using her and followers like her to impact the culture.
Now, I have a small victory from the Lord in my own life. On the night before leaving India, I went up to the roof to pray over India and the ministry we were working with specifically. I asked the Lord to give me a word for the month and for India. I really felt like He was saying or I was feeling the word “light” and also the word “beauty.” One, this is a big deal because it’s one of the first times I really have felt the Lord trying to communicate with me after so much seeking and being patient in Him. Second, these words were not really what I pictured or expected, but I totally understand why He chose them. I know that God wants to bring so much more light to India and that His Christians are already His lights. I just feel like He has so many good plans for what is going on there. For beauty, the obvious reason is for the countryside and landscape. I was honestly not expecting it to be beautiful, green, and vibrant even through the dust and trash. The other reason is for the people. There was one man who I prayed over and he was beautiful with his wrinkles and white hair. The children were beautiful as well and would just hang onto me smiling so wide wanting to be loved. These are the words the Lord had spoken to me over India, and I realized we had been speaking them over India as well.
Each night at our church services we sang two songs. We rotated between “Big Big House,” “Mighty to Save,” and “Here I am to Worship.” That same night while walking around the roof praying over the building and ministry the Lord put the lyrics for “Here I am to Worship” on my heart. Guess what the first verse says…
“LIGHT of the world you stepped out into darkness, open my eyes let me see. a BEAUTY that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you.”
Little did I know that the two words God gave me about this country, I was speaking over the churches every night for the last month. It’s so crazy how this is just a small example of how God really does have a purpose and plan for our lives. He has completely set things into motion before we even had an idea of them in our minds. So not only has the Lord been blessing so many people through us, but He is also revealing Himself to me slowly. He is just so good.
India was such a sweet time and a great beginning to the race. It was not a walk in the park by any means, but the Lord is using the discomfort to draw us all closer to Him. Now we are in Kathmandu, Nepal for debrief. We have been able to catch up on sleep, shop, eat way too much good food, and adventure. Yesterday I hiked up a mountain to a monastery and got to play hopscotch with a child monk in training. So far, Nepal has been amazing and even feels a little bit like home with the western community and hipsterness going on. I love it! We leave to meet our ministry host for the month on Monday, so I will let you know more when we figure out what we are doing.
Once again thank you for reading, supporting, and commenting! I am truly blessed, and I pray by reading this you would be blessed as well. If you need to get a hold of me to talk this week is a good time because wifi is easily accessible, and I have free time!
