I have been in Bangalore, India for the past two weeks and it has been nothing short of fantastic! We are staying at one of YWAM Bangalore’s houses and helping out in their various ministries. In contrast to our past three months, this month has been so restful and we more or less have our own space to enjoy and not feel like we are in the way. Ministry usually only lasts four to five hours a day so there is ample time to spend with the Lord and with teammates. Ministry has been a smorgasbord of things. We spent two days at a nearby university and had the opportunity to talk to a class of MBA students. One day, we picked up and burned trash at a slum and then visited a home for homeless, disabled, and leprous women. Then we spent three days working with YWAM’s Mercy Ministries and visited several slums. We would have a worship time for the children and usually share a Bible story and a skit. At one location, we had 192 kids! 
Burning trash in a slum as a way to show the people a better way to live and hopefully start a conversation with them.
One of the slums we visited with Mercy Ministries. We sang and shared Bible stories with some of the children.
This past week we helped at a VBS. It was a program put together by a U.S. organization so I had flashbacks to being in the youth group and singing songs with cheesy motions on stage. There were usually between 100-130 kids and a lot of them spoke English but some spoke Kanaada, the local dialect, so most things had to be translated. I helped out with the green team and they were super fun! There were a lot of boys in my group and they could be pretty rambunctious but some of them were hearing about Jesus for the first time in their lives so it was worth it. Many of the kids came from Hindu families so one thing we wanted to emphasize this week was that Jesus is the only God! On Thursday, the gospel was presented (not quite as good as the Suitcase of Sin version that I grew up with under Steve Andrews but still effective) and all 139 children raised their hand and said they wanted to follow Jesus! I know that not all of them completely understand that Jesus is not just another God to pray to but the seeds have been planted.
The theme was Everest: Conquering Challenges with God’s Mighty Power!
The many faces of the green group and their favorite thing to do during snack time or any other time they could escape the group without getting caught!
This week will be different as well. We are going to visit several of the YWAM bases and spend a lot of time in prayer for this city. Then in a week, we will be in Nepal. I will surely miss India and the people we have met here. The culture is so vibrant and can be seen through the clothes, buildings, and faces of people walking down the street. Indian food isn’t my favorite (too spicy) but our cooks have been gracious and made lots of delicious meals for us.
Note for Becky: I soak my clothes in a bucket with a little detergent and then scrub it as best I can with a bar of soap and then rinse it in the kitchen sink. Then it gets hung on the roof to dry which usually only takes a few hours unless it’s a good day and it rains.
We were the guest of honor at this Indian wedding! I have loved getting to know Team Aslan a little better this month as well. (Don’t ask me who the two men are on the ends..we were asked to be in many photos!)
As I am getting close to the half-way point of this 11-month journey, I want to hear from you all! I try to blog and keep people updated on what is going on but I know there are a lot of things I leave out. This is where you come in. I want to give you the opportunity to ask me any questions you would like about what the World Race has been like for me thus far. Your questions can be silly or serious and I will do my best to answer them. Email me ([email protected]), comment below, or send me a Facebook message! Can’t wait to hear from you!
