I said goodbye to Penang, Malaysia and arrived in Manipur, India on December 5. The village I’m staying in is small and quiet, and a 10-minute walk down the hill leads you into a busier village. I am surrounded by mountains, and the seminary college that I’m living in has a nice front and back yard. I found a spot in the back that overlooks another village and has a great view of the mountains. One of my favorite things to do is set up my hammock here and read my bible while watching the sunset. It is very peaceful until the kids from the village below see you. Then before you know it, you are surrounded by a bunch of little kiddos who want to be your friend (most of the people in the village I’m in know English, so I’m able to actually converse with the kids).
Every morning at 6:30 I roll out of bed and walk up to the meal tent (with another squadmate of course #GottaLoveTheBuddySystem). There Darra (he’s the cook, and literally one of my favorite people) has little packages of cookies and hot chai tea prepared for us. I spend time with Jesus and read my bible while sipping my tea until breakfast at 8:00.
Ministry in India has consisted of lots of VBS’s and teaching English to kids. One day I sat on the side of the road yelling “SALE SALE SALE!” while trying to sell clothes at a flea market. Another day for ministry I did mud fishing. A pond was being drained, and the fish had to be taken out to be sold as a fundraiser for the local youth group. The entire village was there, and it was really cool to see how tight-knit the community is and how they all help each other out. The first some men from the village went into the pond and rounded up the big fish with nets. After all of the big fish were out and the pond had drained a little bit more, me and some other World Racers were able to get in. There was a super thick layer of muck on the bottom that would sometimes go past my knees, and the water was super cold. I had to wait until I saw a fish pop up for air, and then I had to lunge for it and try to catch it with my bare hands. There were a few times I had a fish in my hands, but they were slimy, and I was never able to catch one. The fish knew how bad we were at catching them, so they would play games. They would pop up right in front of us and still getaway. Some of them would even jump right over us just to tease us.
We have supper at 5, and every night we have rice with potato curry and vegetables. It gets pitch black outside by 5, so not a whole lot happens after we’re done eating. I usually like to gaze at the stars. There were little to no stars in Thailand and Malaysia, so I’ve gained a lot more appreciation for them. Then the squad usually runs around and plays games, but I usually chill in my room and read my Bible or one of the Narnia books.
India is the reason I chose this route, and I know God has big things for me here. I have been here for almost a month now, and already God has been moving in mighty ways!
