Launch took place in Atlanta Georgia. It was very refreshing to see my whole squad after almost 2 months. The days were filled with sessions but It all did not feel real. I still cannot believe that I am with 40 other kids my age, trying to change such a big world. We are all so close and I love each and every one.
Saying goodbye to my parents at launch was not as sad as I thought it was going to be. It wasn’t ever a goodbye, but a see you later and I think that made it easier. My parents have always been so supportive and I definitely appreciate and love them with all my heart. Shouts out to Mom and Pops!
As the days started to go by it was finally time to leave the US… or so we thought. Hurricane Irma decided to swing by and while sitting in the airport on the 11th, our flight got cancelled. It was around 2 when we hopped into vans and drove about 45 min out of Atlanta to a church that kindly let us stay the night along with another squad whose flight got cancelled as well. There was no shower and no Wi-Fi at the church so everyone either talked, played some sports in the gym, or slept. Later that evening we ate some Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. After that I had the opportunity to play the Cajon (percussion instrument) for worship. It was myself and 2 others (one girl sang and the guy played the guitar) and we led worship for about 90 people. It was very powerful and overall just a great experience. After that was lights out and on to the next day.
Travel day began the 12th. We left the gym around lunchtime and made our way to the airport. We ate lunch and proceeded to the international terminal where we got through security. We had roughly two hours to relax before our 7-o clock flight. I had gotten some nachos and didn’t regret that decision for my last meal in America. We then hopped on the longest flight of my life. 13.5 hours. It was a really awesome experience and not as bad as people would normally think. You pretty much slept and when you wake up they would have food ready for you to eat. They had dinner brunch and a snack which was all delicious. I would tell you the food I ate if I actually knew what I was eating, but all in all it was very delicious and new to the taste buds. We landed in Qatar and the airport was massive. It was said to be one of the most technologically advanced airports and you bet it was. I had not gotten food from the airport only because our next flight would feed us. After about 2 hours I hopped on a plane with half of my squad. The other half had to wait another hour and take a connecting flight and then to the city we are at. My plane ride was a short 4 hours. They fed us and I slept most of the plane ride. We arrived to Hyderabad airport on September 14, 2017 at 2am. I could not believe that I had not showered for 4 days, and that I was spending my 19th birthday in India.
We finally got through customs and got hopped on a bus to the home we are staying in. It was around 5am and we decided not to sleep so that jet lag wouldn’t come and bite our butts. We mainly talked and relaxed all day. Sami and I had the opportunity to see the city a little bit with this Brant (Adventures in Missions India Director) and took about an hour riding in a tuk tuk and walking around. The chai here in India is a million times better than America’s. The rest of the squad got home around 6ish and we had dinner and everyone was in bed around 9 for sure.
My first real day in India was one for the books. It started with waking up around 5am. I read and did worship for about an hour and then the people who live in this house started their worship and it was incredible. 7 is when the house started to wake up and everyone started to eat breakfast. Tanner would then lead worship after breakfast and I would play the Cajon and Garret would play the piano. It’s such an awesome experience to get to be a part of worship for 50 people in this house. We then had training until around 12 when we had lunch. After that was a free day so Luke and I were headed to Golconda Fort. Bradley ended up joining us and it was just the 3 of us. The fort was absolutely massive and had the most amazing view of the city. We then walked around the fort and saw camels and goats. Everyone was asking us for pictures and they were making us shake their baby’s hands. Everyone we got a chance to talk to called us bros and everyone was super friendly. We got home around 4 and took showers before everyone started to get back home. Dinner was at 6:30 and shortly after that I passed out for the night.
There is a day in-between the next travel day where we went to a giant market but most of the day was relaxing.
The day after that is when we hopped on a 8 hour bus drive to another place in india to begin our ministry! My next blog is going to be all about the first day of ministry and how God has been working through our team!
Thank you to everyone for the support!
