It’s officially been over one month on the World Race. It’s insane to me that I still have 8 more of these to go and that I’ve already been in and out of India, that our work there is done. India blew my expectations out of the water in so many ways. As I look back on what I’ve posted on social media though, I’ve realized that I didn’t really show what it was actually like being there. I shared photos and stories of beautiful children, my laughing squad mates, a few things that have been on my heart, but not much else. I think my expectations were blown so much not because they were high and I was disappointed, but rather because missionary living is most always glorified. At the beginning of this month I noticed that and told myself I wouldn’t glorify it, but here I am with only photos that relay the joys and beauty of the field. I never took photos of the swarm of beetles lining the bathroom/ bedroom/ hallway walls at night or described the fact that I don’t think I was ever completely dry for the entirety of the stay thanks to a mixture of humidity, dry lite towels, and relentless heat. I didn’t take the time to talk about the dehydration that eventually caught up with probably 70% of the squad, how my feet would swell to the point where no one could figure out where my leg stopped and foot started from that. many. bug. bites., or the rat that ran terror on our room and hearts for about an hour. And the cravings, oh the cravings. “You know what sounds really good…” And so it would begin: a 10+ minute long conversation on what foods we missed more than our families, like anything with sugar really, or Mexican food, or bacon, or avocados, or…or…or…I never took the time to share this because the minute we got to ministry, the minute we began praying with people or playing with all of those kids you see on Facebook, every bit of that uncomfortable living melted away and a lot of big things that are frankly just easy to blog about would happen. But what I want you all to know is that big, amazing, hilarious, sad, breathtaking things happened outside of ministry as well. Like the 2 hour prayer sessions my team had every Sunday night that never failed to fill me up, or that time when we just sat with the women in the kitchen and learned a thing or two about not only cooking but also what side to get a nose ring on and how to properly wear a scarf. This month was full of laughing to the point of pain, tears, homesickness, routine, mourning that often turned into dancing, stories shared and stories heard. As I look back, it was actually an extremely difficult month but we all made it through thanks to grace, mercy, and a ton of peanut butter. So now I sit here in the mountains of Nepal thanking God for every single thing India hit me with and even finding myself missing the all of comforts that were once so incredibly foreign.
Thank you for all of the prayers and support through month one!! We all made it to Nepal debrief in one piece, where we’ve been catching up on some much needed rest, eating well, and hiking in the stunning Himalayas. We leave the hostel this Monday to start ministry for month two so please keep the squad in your prayers as we dive in once again.
